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Human Rights Watch Blasts US Over Detainee Abuse |
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Written by Al-Alam News
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Saturday, 03 May 2008 |
The United Nations should hold Washington accountable for improperly holding
thousands of detainees in Iraq, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Monday, charging
that the detentions flout international standards.
In a letter to members of the UN Security Council, HRW said detentions by the
US-led Multi-National Force, which often find Iraqis detained without charge and
for unlimited periods, need far more rigorous scrutiny.
"The Security Council should insist that the United States abide by
international law for persons detained," said Joe Stork, Middle East deputy
director at Human Rights Watch.
"The Bush administration pushed the Security Council to declare that the US-led
occupation of Iraq had ended in June 2004, and the end of occupation means that
international human rights standards apply -- judicial review, access to legal
counsel and family members, and a fair trial."
United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq, recently reported that the
multi-national force was holding 24,514 detainees at the end of 2007.
Since the declared end of the US occupation of Iraq in June 2004, international
law allows the internment of Iraqis "for imperative reasons of security," but
HRW said in its letter to the United Nations that the US improperly uses this
language to justify holding the detainees without judicial review.
The rights watchdog also expressed concerns about allegations of widespread
torture of detainees by Iraqi authorities.
"Where there is a fear of torture, the US should retain physical custody over
individuals formally transferred to the Iraqi justice system for prosecution,"
HRW said in its statement, calling on Washington to allow the UN mission, as
well as independent Iraqi and international human rights observers, to visit its
detention facilities and report their findings.
"Four years since abuses at Abu Ghraib became known, Washington should finally
allow independent monitors who can report publicly to visit its facilities and
speak with detainees," Stork said.
Source: Al-Alam News
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