Lewis E. Welshofer Jr.

Who is Lewis E. Welshofer Jr.?

Lewis E. Welshofer Jr. is an United States Army soldier, convicted of homicide of an Iraqi prisoner of war on November 23, 2003 in al-Qaim. Welshofer was then serving as a Chief Warrant Officer in the 3d Armored Cavalry Regiment.

Following a technique he alleged was approved by his superiors, Welshofer placed Iraqi Major General Abed Hamed Mowhoush headfirst into a sleeping bag, wrapped the bag tightly with electrical cords, then sat on his chest and held his mouth closed. General Mowhoush had eight broken ribs from an earlier beating, allegedly carried out by CIA contractors under Welshofer's direction. American forces believed Mowhoush, a former high-level officer in Saddam Hussein's regime, was one of the leaders of the Iraqi insurgency. He had voluntarily surrendered to the Americans in hopes of helping free his sons, who were being held by the Americans.

In his defense, Welshofer had stressed that the General was refusing to acknowledge leading the insurgency, and that his superiors were insisting that Army interrogators "take the gloves off" when dealing with Iraqi prisoners.