[JURIST] Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende [official profile] said Friday that the government would investigate allegations that Netherlands military personnel abused Iraqi prisoners in 2003 by subjecting them to sleep deprivation, high-pitched noises and bright lights. According to a report [text, in Dutch] Friday in Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant [media website], Dutch interrogators carried out the abusive techniques in the southern province of Muthana, where about 1,400 Dutch troops were stationed in 2003. The newspaper reported that the military had already conducted an internal probe, which was not made public because it resulted in no prosecutions.

The leader of the opposition Green Left party [party website, in Dutch] has accused the military of concealing the incidents and called for the Dutch national assembly to reconvene and investigate the actions of the defense minister. AP has more.