Italian mercenaries in Iraq carried out torture similar to that practised by American soldiers in the Abu Ghraib jail, Italy's Rainews 24 television channel was told on Wednesday.
The accusations came from Ali Shalal al Kaisi, the 42-year-old Iraqi seen in a famous photograph showing torture practices in the Iraqi jail. He has since founded an association for victims of American prisons.
Ali Shalal's claim that contracted Italian security staff committed torture appeared to be based on testimony from a former Iraqi diplomat. He identified the diplomat as Haitham Abu Ghaith but gave no further details about him.
There was no immediate reaction from the government on the allegations.
Interviewed in Jordan by the 24-hour news channel of Italian state broadcaster RAI, Ali Shalal described his
experiences in Abu Ghraib and noted that, according to the ex-diplomat, a number of Italians carried out similar acts.
He appeared to be referring to Italians allegedly hired by two US security firms, Caci International and Titan Corp.
Rainews 24 said that all Iraqi prisons were under American control.
It was unclear from the report whether the Italians were alleged to have taken part in torture in Abu Ghraib, possibly of Ali Shalal himself, or to have tortured prisoners elsewhere in a similar way.
Ali Shalal was arrested in Baghdad in October 2003. In a picture seen by millions of people around the world, he is shown standing on a box with a blanket over his head and electrical wires attached to him.
He told Rainews 24 he was given electric shocks for three days and described feeling his "eyes popping out of their sockets", as well as biting his tongue so hard it bled profusely.
The interview, which was scheduled to be broadcast twice on Thursday, did not dwell on the alleged involvement of Italians in the torture. Instead Ali Shalal appeared more disturbed by the loss of Iraqi money and archaeological artifacts, which he partly ascribed to Italians employed by private security firms.
"We love the Italian people, we know the difference between the civilian population and the people who commit these acts. But this won't stop us denouncing what the Italians did," he said.
Italy sent a team of top archaeologists to Iraq after the war in order to help put an important Baghdad museum back on its feet after it was looted during the US-led invasion in 2003.
The allegations of torture by Italian nationals drew expressions of horror from leftwing parties in the centre-left opposition, who called on the government to "shed full light" on the matter.
Maurizio Agliana, one of four Italian bodyguards kidnapped in Iraq in 2004, appeared to doubt the authenticity of the allegations. "I don't know anything about these accusations. But I believe that everything is being used as a pretext to attack us, to attack the West," he said.
Italy did not take part in the invasion of Iraq but sent about 3,000 troops later in the year to help rebuild the country.
