17 000 locked up in Iraq
2005-04-10 22:00
Baghdad - US and Iraqi forces are holding a record 17 000 men and women - most without being formally charged - and those in Iraqi-controlled jails live often in deplorable conditions, officials said.
About two-thirds are locked up as "security detainees" without any formal charges in US-run facilities, Guy Rudisill, the US military spokesperson for Iraqi detention operations, told AFP.
The rest are incarcerated in Iraqi-run jails in conditions that fall well below any international standard and are in dire need of reform, said Bakhtiar Amin, Iraq's outgoing human rights minister.
"None of the Iraqi detention centres meet international standards for cleanliness, food and the treatment of prisoners.
"Neither are the buildings up to standard. We have asked for international help."
Amin acknowledged problems in Iraqi security forces' treatment of detainees following a pair of denunciatory reports by New York based human rights watch and the US state department since January.
"We are aware of Iraqi security forces' tremendous sacrifices in their struggle against criminality and terrorism.
"We cannot ignore the fact that some lose their life in combat, but this does not stop us from criticising the abuses."
Amin said his ministry would soon deliver a 20-page report on ways to fix the woeful prison system.
Women
There are currently 6 504 inmates in Iraq's 18 prisons, 2 573 of whom have already been sentenced, Amin said, adding that they include both "common-law criminals and terrorists."
At least 131 of the detainees are women, he said.
"In certain places, the situation is deplorable. In others, it is bad, and in others, it is better."
The ICRC is unable to visit Iraqi-run facilities due to severe security restrictions on the movements of its staff.
US-run jails and detention centres hold a total of 10 708 people, Rudisill said.
About 114 high-level detainees, including ousted dictator Saddam Hussein and several former top aides, are held at Camp Cropper at Baghdad international airport.
The increase in prisoner numbers resulted from what a spokesperson called US military "ongoing operations" before Iraq's January 30 election and growing strength of Iraq military and police forces.
Last November, before US troops started fighting in the city of Fallujah which was then dominated by insurgents, Iraq's total prison population stood at about 5 000, according to prison officials at the time.
- AFP