Claverhouse
25 Jan 2005, 09:48 PM
From a Human Rights Watch email...
Iraq: Torture Continues at Hands of New Government
Police Systematically Abusing Detainees
(Baghdad, January 25, 2005) -- Iraqi security forces are committing systematic torture and other abuses against people in detention, Human Rights Watch said in a new report released today.
The 94-page report, The New Iraq? Torture and Ill-treatment of
Detainees in Iraqi Custody, documents how unlawful arrest, long-term incommunicado detention, torture and other ill-treatment of detainees (including children) by Iraqi authorities have become routine and commonplace. Human Rights Watch conducted interviews in Iraq with 90 detainees, 72 of whom alleged having been tortured or ill-treated, particularly under interrogation.
While insurgent forces have committed numerous unlawful attacks
against the Iraqi police, this does not justify the abuses committed by Iraqi authorities, Human Rights Watch 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 Human Rights Watch’s Middle East and North Africa Division. "The Iraqi Interim Government is not keeping its promises to honor and respect basic human rights. Sadly, the Iraqi people continue to suffer from a government that acts with impunity in its treatment of detainees."
Methods of torture cited by detainees include routine beatings to the body using cables, hosepipes and other implements.
Detainees report kicking, slapping and punching; prolonged suspension from the wrists with the hands tied behind the back; electric shocks to sensitive parts of the body, including the earlobes and genitals; and being kept blindfolded and/or handcuffed continuously for several days. In several cases, the detainees suffered what may be permanent hysical disability.
Detainees also reported being deprived by Iraqi security forces
of food and water, and being crammed into small cells with standing room only. Numerous detainees described how Iraqi police sought bribes in return for release, access to family members or food and water.
The Human Rights Watch report details serious and widespread human rights violations since 2003, against both alleged national security suspects, including insurgents, and suspected common criminals. It also highlights serious violations committed by Iraq’s national intelligence service since mid-2004, principally against members of political parties deemed to constitute a threat to state security.
Claverhouse :ph34r:
Iraq: Torture Continues at Hands of New Government
Police Systematically Abusing Detainees
(Baghdad, January 25, 2005) -- Iraqi security forces are committing systematic torture and other abuses against people in detention, Human Rights Watch said in a new report released today.
The 94-page report, The New Iraq? Torture and Ill-treatment of
Detainees in Iraqi Custody, documents how unlawful arrest, long-term incommunicado detention, torture and other ill-treatment of detainees (including children) by Iraqi authorities have become routine and commonplace. Human Rights Watch conducted interviews in Iraq with 90 detainees, 72 of whom alleged having been tortured or ill-treated, particularly under interrogation.
While insurgent forces have committed numerous unlawful attacks
against the Iraqi police, this does not justify the abuses committed by Iraqi authorities, Human Rights Watch 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 Human Rights Watch’s Middle East and North Africa Division. "The Iraqi Interim Government is not keeping its promises to honor and respect basic human rights. Sadly, the Iraqi people continue to suffer from a government that acts with impunity in its treatment of detainees."
Methods of torture cited by detainees include routine beatings to the body using cables, hosepipes and other implements.
Detainees report kicking, slapping and punching; prolonged suspension from the wrists with the hands tied behind the back; electric shocks to sensitive parts of the body, including the earlobes and genitals; and being kept blindfolded and/or handcuffed continuously for several days. In several cases, the detainees suffered what may be permanent hysical disability.
Detainees also reported being deprived by Iraqi security forces
of food and water, and being crammed into small cells with standing room only. Numerous detainees described how Iraqi police sought bribes in return for release, access to family members or food and water.
The Human Rights Watch report details serious and widespread human rights violations since 2003, against both alleged national security suspects, including insurgents, and suspected common criminals. It also highlights serious violations committed by Iraq’s national intelligence service since mid-2004, principally against members of political parties deemed to constitute a threat to state security.
Claverhouse :ph34r: