US admits detention blunder
2005-05-30 20:19
Baghdad - United States forces mistakenly detained Iraqi Sunni leader Mohsen Abdel Hamid for several hours on Monday, undermining efforts to include the key Muslim minority in Iraq's nascent democratic process.
US forces in Baghdad admitted having made an embarrassing mistake when they grabbed Hamid of the Islamist Party in a dawn raid that left his home turned upside down.
He was released in the afternoon.
The incident sparked a sharp reaction from Iraq's President Jalal Talabani, while the government was also angry about the wrongful arrest of a senior leader at a time when it was bidding to integrate Sunnis into political life.
The US military said: "This morning, coalition forces detained and interviewed Mohsen Abdel Hamid.
"After the interview, it was determined he was detained by mistake and should be released," .
"Coalition forces regret any inconvenience and acknowledge Mr Hamid's co-operation in resolving this matter."
Following his release, Hamid told reporters: "US soldiers burst in, tied my hands and led me to an unknown place before flying me by helicopter to another place where I was interrogated all day long on various subjects.
"I don't yet know the reason for my arrest, nor that of my sons."
Hamid's party said two of his three sons, Moqdad and Assayed, were still being held along with several guests and guards, and demanded an explanation for the raid and a formal apology.
The incident sparked a sharp reaction from Talabani, who said in a statement: "The presidential council has not been consulted ... and feels that treating a political figure of this level in such an arbitrary way is unacceptable."
The country's government was also angry about the wrongful detention of a powerful leader as it tried to integrate Sunnis into political life.
Want seized money to be returned
The Iraq Islamist Party pressed the government to answer for the blunder and also called for money and documents seized in the raid to be returned.
According to senior official Alaa Makki, Hamid's incarceration was all the more surprising in that it came a day after government spokesperson Leith Kubba had welcomed a party statement denouncing violence that was threatening Iraq's fledgling democracy and social fabric.
The statement had also warned the government against transforming security forces into an instrument of repression under the control of Shiites who now dominated the political scene.
- AFP