Anders Koustrup Kærgaard

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Anders Koustrup Kærgaard (* 1972 ) is a Danish Captain of the Military Intelligence Service and whistleblowers . His release of a videotape showing human rights violations during a military operation in Iraq on November 25, 2004 , attracted national and international attention. It served the investigative commission of the Danish parliament established in April 2012 as evidence to clarify Denmark's role in the Iraq war .

Life

Kærgaard attended Maribo Grammar School from 1988 to 1991 . He then completed an officer training from 1991 to 1994. In 1995 he worked as a sales manager in a hardware store and from 1995 to 1999 he attended the teacher training college in Blaagaard ( Copenhagen ). From 2000 to 2003 he ran his own art gallery. From 2005 to 2012 he began studying history at the University of Copenhagen and continued in 2012 at the University of Aarhus .

Kærgaard served in the 4th Battalion of the Gardehusar Regimentet (INTOPS) and worked as an intelligence officer in Iraq between 2004 and 2005. As a member of the psychological warfare department, his responsibilities included assessing the threat situation during the Iraqi election in January 2005. Before the start of the multinational Operation Green Desert on November 25, 2004, he warned battalion commander John Dalby that the village of Az-Zubair, eight kilometers south of Basra , were only civilians and not, as claimed, high leaders of al-Qaeda and Iraqi Insurgents. After the mission, civilians were abducted by the Iraqi military and tortured for days in Al Jamiat prison in Basra. Despite the failure, the Danish military reported to the Danish public that an operation had been successful.

Contrary to the demands of the military leadership to conceal details of the unsuccessful operation, in October 2012 he published the warning intelligence report he had prepared, as well as a video showing how Iraqi armed forces mistreated civilians and Danish soldiers stood idly by.

After returning home, Kærgaard suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder , was on sick leave for a long time and served as captain at Hjemmeværnet from 2010 . He then worked as a project manager at the Cold War Museum and as a supervisor for criminals. Because of his publications, he lost his job, was threatened with six months in prison and fined 13,000  kroner . Friends and acquaintances from his social circle as well as family members connected in military tradition turned away from him.

Kærgaard campaigns for the rights of Iraqi civilian victims of the Iraq war and whistleblowers in the Danish military . He was a participant in the XIX. Rosa Luxemburg Conference on January 11, 2014 in Berlin .

Awards

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Peter Stanners: Army Accused of Allowing prisoner abuse. The Copenhagen Post, October 18, 2012, accessed January 7, 2014 .
  2. ↑ a b c Asger Westh, Jonas H. Bruun: Portræt: Officeren, the gik mod sine egne. (No longer available online.) Jyllands-Posten , October 18, 2012, archived from the original on January 8, 2014 ; Retrieved January 7, 2014 (Danish).
  3. ↑ a b Information on Linkedin.com under "Anders Koustrup Kærgaard"
  4. ↑ a b c d Freja Wedenborg: A soldier becomes a whistleblower. Junge Welt , January 7, 2014, accessed January 7, 2014 .
  5. ↑ Daniel Ryden: Danskar ingrep inte när civila miss hand lades. Sydsvenskan, October 19, 2012, accessed January 7, 2014 (Swedish).
  6. ↑ Kristian Korno: ground betalt for Anders Kærgaard. Ekstra Bladet, July 1, 2013, accessed January 7, 2014 (Danish).
  7. ^ Whistleblowers wanted. Junge Welt, January 13, 2014, accessed January 14, 2014 .
  8. ↑ Anders Koustrup Kærgaard for Patrick Mac Manus-prisen. (No longer available online.) U-landsnyt.dk, November 10, 2013, archived from the original on January 14, 2014 ; Retrieved January 14, 2014 (Danish).
personal data
SURNAME Kærgaard, Anders Koustrup
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Kaergaard, Anders
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Danish captain and whistleblower
DATE OF BIRTH 1972