by TChris

Arrogating to themselves the power to decide that certain Iraqi prisoners deserved abuse, "U.S. military personnel singled out senior officials of Saddam Hussein's regime for special abuse in coalition prison, including solitary confinement for months on end," according to information provided to the Associated Press by a source who obtained the information from the Red Cross.

"Since June 2003 over a hundred 'high-value detainees' have been held for nearly 23 hours a day in strict solitary confinement in small concrete cells devoid of daylight," said the [Red Cross] report, which was given to coalition forces in February.

"Their continued internment several months after their arrest in strict solitary confinement constituted a serious violation of the third and fourth Geneva Conventions," said the 24-page report, confirmed by the ICRC as authentic after it was published by The Wall Street Journal Monday.

The AP learned that many of the abused detainees were included in the well-publicized "deck of cards," representing the most-wanted members of Saddam Hussein's regime. It is unclear whether Saddam Hussein has been mistreated.