UPN, Alm.del - 2005-06

Nearly three years after United States (US) and allied forces invaded Iraq and toppledthe government of Saddam Hussain, the human rights situation in the country remainsdire. The deployment of US-led forces in Iraq and the armed response that engenderedhas resulted in thousands of deaths of civilians and widespread abuses amid theongoing conflict.In this new report, Amnesty International focuses on human rights violationsfor which the US-led MNF is directly responsible and those which are increasinglybeing committed by Iraqi security. The record of these forces, including US forcesand their United Kingdom (UK) allies, is an unpalatable one.Despite the pre-war rhetoric and post-invasion justifications of US and UKpolitical leaders, and their obligations under international law, from the outset theoccupying forces attached insufficient weight to human rights considerations. Thisremains the position even if the violations by the MNF that are the subject of thisreport do not have the same graphic, shock quality as the images that emerged inApril 2004 and February 2006 showing inmates being tortured and humiliated by USguards at Baghdad’s Abu Ghraib prison and Iraqi youth being beaten by UK troopsafter they were apprehended during a riot.Since the invasion of Iraq in March 2003 tens of thousands of people havebeen detained by foreign forces, mainly the US forces, without being charged or triedand without the right to challenge their detention before a judicial body. According to

the official website of the MNF, at the end of November 2005 there were more than14,000 security detainees held in MNF custody, distributed over the four main UScontrolled detention centres as follows: Abu Ghraib Prison (4,710 detainees), CampBucca (7,365 detainees), Camp Cropper (138 detainees) and Fort Suse (1,176detainees), as well as various military brigade and division internment facilities (650detainees).Some of the detainees have been held for over two years without any effectiveremedy or recourse; others have been released without explanation or apology orreparation after months in detention, victims of a system that is arbitrary and a recipefor abuse. The MNF has established procedures which deprive detainees of humanrights guaranteed in international human rights law and standards. In particular, theMNF denies detainees their right to challenge the lawfulness of their detention beforea court. There exists no time limit for the detention of those hundreds of securityinternees who have been detained by the MNF since before the handover of power inJune 2004. According to the MNF, at the end of 2005 there were about 750 securityinternees who had been held since before the handover without having been chargedor tried.Many cases of torture and ill-treatment of detainees held in facilitiescontrolled by the Iraqi authorities have been reported since the handover of power inJune 2004. Among other methods, victims have been subjected to electric shocks orhave been beaten with plastic cables. The picture that is emerging is one in which theIraqi authorities are systematically violating the rights of detainees in breach ofguarantees contained both in Iraqi legislation and in international law and standards –including the right not to be tortured and to be promptly brought before a judge.Amnesty International is concerned that neither the MNF nor Iraqi authoritieshave established sufficient safeguards to protect detainees from torture or ill-treatment.It is particularly worrying that, despite reports of torture or ill-treatment by US andUK forces and the Iraqi authorities, for thousands of detainees access to the outsideworld continues to be restricted or delayed. Under conditions where monitoring ofdetention facilities by independent bodies is restricted – not least, due to the periloussecurity situation – measures which impose further limitations on the contactdetainees may have with legal counsel or relatives increase the risk that they will besubject to torture or other forms of abuse.Amnesty International is calling on the Iraqi, US and UK authorities to takeurgent, concrete steps to ensure that the fundamental human rights of all detainees inIraq are respected. In particular, these authorities must urgently put in place adequatesafeguards to protect detainees from torture or ill-treatment. This includes ensuringthat all allegations of such abuse are subject to prompt, thorough and independentinvestigation and that any military, security or other officials found to have used,ordered or acquiesced in torture are brought to justice. It includes too ensuring thatdetainees are able effectively to challenge their detention before a court; the right todo so constitutes a fundamental safeguard against arbitrary detention and torture and

ill-treatment, and is one of the non-derogable rights which states are bound to upholdin all circumstances, even in time of war or national emergency.Amnesty International has previously reported on abuses by armed groupsopposed to the MNF and the new Iraqi authorities, some of which are so egregious asto constitute crimes against humanity as well as war crimes. The organizationcondemns and continues to call for an end to these abuses.This report summarizes a 48-page document (16613 words),: Beyond Abu Ghraib: detentionand torture in Iraq (AI Index: MDE 14/001/2006) issued by Amnesty International in March2006. Anyone wishing further details or to take action on this issue should consult the fulldocument. An extensive range of our materials on this and other subjects is available athttp://www.amnesty.org and Amnesty International news releases can be received by email:http://www.amnesty.org/email/email_updates.htmlINTERNATIONAL SECRETARIAT, 1 EASTON STREET, LONDON WC1X 0DW, UNITED KINGDOM