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Arbitrary arrests commited by iraqi forces { January 25 2005 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A34258-2005Jan25.htmlhttp://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A34258-2005Jan25.html
Report: Arbitrary Arrests Commited in Iraq
The Associated Press
Tuesday, January 25, 2005; 2:49 AM
LONDON - Iraqi security forces are arbitrarily arresting people and torturing and abusing detainees, Human Rights Watch said in a report released Tuesday.
With few exceptions, Iraqi authorities have not acted to stop such mistreatment, the report said. International police advisers, largely funded by the U.S. government, "have turned a blind eye to these rampant abuses," it said.
"The Iraqi interim government led by Prime Minister Ayad Allawi ... appears to be actively taking part, or is at least complicit, in these grave violations of fundamental human rights. Nor has the United States, the United Kingdom or other involved governments publicly taken up these issues as a matter of concern," the report said.
"The people of Iraq were promised something better than this after the government of Saddam Hussein fell," said Sarah Leah Whitson, executive director of Middle East and North Africa section of Human Rights Watch.
"We unequivocally condemn the insurgents' brutality. But international law is unambiguous on this point: no government can justify torture of detainees in the name of security," she said.
The Iraqi government said it had received reports from NGOs of the abuse and torture of detainees in prisons supervised by the Iraqi security forces.
"That led the ministry's investigative committees to intensify their visits to these prisons and launched an extensive investigation with both officials and detainees," said Husham al-Suhail, an official in Iraq's Human Rights Ministry. "We are sure that there are violations in these prisons, but not so serious. The investigation is still underway."
A spokesman for interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi declined to comment.
Human Rights Watch said it interviewed 90 detainees in Iraq, of whom 72 claimed to have been tortured or abused.
"The majority of the detainees to whom Human Rights Watch spoke said that torture and ill-treatment under interrogation was routine," the report said.
"Some also said that the police also used violence against them at the time of arrest"
"Typically, detainees reported being blindfolded with their hands tied behind their back while undergoing interrogation. They said their interrogators or guards kicked, slapped and punched them, and beat them all over the body using hosepipes, wooden sticks, iron rods and cables," the report said.
In London, the Foreign Office said it welcomed the report and would study it.
"The U.K. government condemns all forms of abuse, whoever the perpetrators. We have raised the issue of conditions in Iraqi detention facilities with the Iraqi government and will continue to do so in the future," the Foreign Office said.
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On the Net:
Report,http://hrw.org/reports/2005/iraq0105/
© 2005 The Associated Press
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