{"id":48980,"date":"2022-02-18T10:13:32","date_gmt":"2022-02-18T18:13:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=48980"},"modified":"2022-02-18T10:13:32","modified_gmt":"2022-02-18T18:13:32","slug":"man-charged-with-torture-of-iraqi-in-2015-facing-up-to-705-years-in-prison","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=48980","title":{"rendered":"Man Charged with Torture of Iraqi in 2015, Facing up to 705 Years in Prison"},"content":{"rendered":"

PENNSYLVANIA<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"A Pennsylvania man was arrested yesterday on charges alleging that he tortured a victim in the Kurdistan region of Iraq in 2015, according to officials.<\/span><\/p>\n

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A superseding indictment returned Tuesday in federal court in Pennsylvania charges Ross Roggio, 53, of Stroudsburg, with suffocating a victim with a belt and threatening to cut off one of the victim\u2019s fingers.<\/span><\/p>\n

Roggio also directed Kurdish soldiers to inflict other severe physical and mental pain and suffering on the victim, according to officials<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe grand jury charges that the defendant directed and participated in the systematic torture of an employee over the course of 39 days by Kurdish soldiers in Iraq,\u201d said U.S. Attorney John C. Gurganus for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. \u201cThe grand jury\u2019s superseding indictment and the hard work of our law enforcement partners show that such brutality will be exposed and addressed wherever it occurs.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"\u201cThe heinous acts of violence that Ross Roggio directed and inflicted upon the victim were blatant human rights violations that will not be tolerated,\u201d said Assistant Director Luis Quesada of the FBI\u2019s Criminal Investigative Division. \u201cThis superseding indictment underscores that the United States stands for the rule of law and will hold accountable anyone who commits acts of torture, regardless of where it takes place.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis defendant leveraged his position and used foreign soldiers in order to intimidate and coerce someone who was a threat to the success of his corrupt scheme,\u201d said Special Agent in Charge Jacqueline Maguire of the FBI\u2019s Philadelphia Field Office. \u201cWhether in the United States or on foreign soil, heinous acts like torture violate our laws. The FBI has a global reach and working in concert with our federal and international partners, will pursue justice for any victim \u2013 here or abroad \u2013 who suffers at the hands of an American citizen.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

If convicted, he faces up to 705 years in prison, according to officials.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to the superseding indictment, Roggio was managing a project in 2015 to construct a factory and produce weapons in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. <\/span><\/p>\n

The superseding indictment alleges that one of Roggio\u2019s employees raised concerns about the weapons project and, to prevent the employee from interfering with the weapons project, Roggio arranged for Kurdish soldiers to abduct the employee.<\/span><\/p>\n

The superseding indictment alleges that, while the employee was detained at a Kurdish military compound for approximately 39 days, Roggio led multiple interrogation sessions.<\/span><\/p>\n

During that time, Roggio directed Kurdish soldiers to suffocate the victim with a bag, taser the victim in the groin and other areas of his body, beat the victim with fists and rubber hoses, jump violently on the victim\u2019s chest while wearing military boots, and threaten to cut off one of the victim\u2019s fingers while applying pressure to the finger with a large cutting tool. <\/span><\/p>\n

The superseding indictment also alleges that on at least one occasion, Roggio wrapped his belt around the victim\u2019s neck, yanked the victim off the ground, and suspended him in the air, causing the victim to lose consciousness.<\/span><\/p>\n

Roggio and the Roggio Consulting Company LLC were charged in a 37-count indictment in 2018 with illegally exporting firearms parts and tools from the United States to Iraq as part of the weapons project in Kurdistan. <\/span><\/p>\n

The superseding indictment adds the torture charges to the previously charged offenses.<\/span><\/p>\n

The superseding indictment additionally charges Roggio with one count of conspiracy to commit torture and one substantive count of torture. <\/span><\/p>\n

Roggio is the second U.S. citizen \u2013 and the fourth defendant overall \u2013 to be charged with violating the torture statute since the law went into effect in 1994.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

PENNSYLVANIA A Pennsylvania man was arrested yesterday on charges alleging that he tortured a victim in the Kurdistan region of Iraq in 2015, according to officials. 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