450 Iraqi detainees released
2006-06-27 12:35
Abu Ghraib - About 450 detainees held in US and Iraqi prisons were freed on Tuesday under an amnesty as part of a national reconciliation plan aimed at ending the bloodshed.
The move brings the number of those released so far this month to more than 2 500.
The sixth batch of detainees held at Abu Ghraib and other facilities run by the US military and Iraqis were assembled at the notorious US-run prison west of Baghdad before their release.
"Your release today is part of the prime minister's national reconciliation plan," Iraq's national security advisor Muwaffaq al-Rubaie told them.
"This is not a political game, it is a sincere attempt of reconciliation and to unite Iraq."
A US military spokesperson in charge of detainee operations said all those released since Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki first spoke of a national reconciliation initiative on June 6 are suspected of being involved in the insurgency but have committed no violent crimes like bombing, killing, torture and kidnapping.
One of the items in Maliki's 24-point reconciliation programme presented to parliament on Sunday promises amnesty to detainees who have committed no crimes.
- AFP