Iraq 'Sovereignty' and Abuse

US military police raid Iraqi detention centre to stop abuse of prisoners

American military police yesterday raided a building belonging to the
Iraqi ministry of the interior where prisoners were allegedly being
physically abused by Iraqi interrogators.

The raid appeared to be a violation of the country's new sovereignty,
leading to angry scenes inside the ministry between Iraqi policemen
and US soldiers.

The military police, who had been told of abuse, seized an area known
as the Guesthouse just outside the ministry's main building. They
disarmed the Iraqi policemen and at one stage threatened to set free
prisoners whose handcuffs they removed, according to Iraqi officials.

The arrival of a second group of US military police and a more senior
officer led to an argument between the two groups of military
policemen over who had command authority for the raid.

Iraqi ministry of interior officials admitted that around 150
prisoners taken during a raid four days before in the Betawain
district of Baghdad had been physically abused during their arrest and
subsequent questioning.

The men were captured in the first big Iraqi-led anti-crime and
anti-terrorism operation, which took place a few days before the
transfer of power, with US military police in support and using US
satellite images.

One of the prisoners bared his back after his initial arrest to reveal
open welts allegedly caused by baton and rubber hoses.

A bodyguard for the head of criminal intelligence, Hussein Kamal,
admitted that the beatings had taken place.

Nashwan Ali - who said his nickname was Big Man - said: "A US MP asked
me this morning what police division I was in. I said I was in
criminal intelligence.

"The American asked me why we had beaten the prisoners. I said we beat
the prisoners because they are all bad people. But I told him we
didn't strip them naked, photograph them or f**k them like you did."

The clear evidence of human rights abuses in the ministry building,
which western advisers said they were not aware was being used for
interrogations, raises serious questions over what authority the US
and other multinational forces have to intervene if they suspect human
rights abuses.

Although the new interim government of prime minister Ayad Allawi has
warned that it may impose "drastic measures" - including invoking
emergency powers to combat the worsening security situation in the
country - advisers from the former coalition say they have been at
pains to train Iraqi officers in human rights. This takes up one of
their eight weeks' training.

One western police adviser said he had no idea that the ministry
itself was being used for questioning suspects. "It sounds rather like
the bad old days," he said.


el - Some recent quotes:

"Iraq is free of rape rooms and torture chambers."

"The Iraqi people objected to the reign of Saddam Hussein and you
would, too, if you lived there, where you couldn't express yourself,
where you got tortured..."

"One step further in the right direction along the road toward a
democratic, sovereign, free and peaceful Iraq."