Violence in occupied Iraq

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Human rights in Occupied Iraq have caused many concerns and controversies since the 2003 occupation. Concerns have been expressed about conduct by insurgents, the U.S.-led occupying coalition forces and the Iraqi government. The U.S. is investigating several allegations of violations of international and internal standards of conduct in isolated incidents by its own forces and contractors. The UK is also conducting investigations of alleged human rights abuses by its forces. War crime tribunals and criminal prosecution of the numerous crimes by "insurgents" are likely years away.

Contents

[edit] Human Rights Abuses by Insurgents & Terrorists

Abuses of Human Rights conducted by, or alleged to have been conducted by, Iraq-based insurgents and/or terrorists include:

[edit] August 2003

  • Bombing of the U.N. headquarters in Baghdad in August 2003 which killed the top U.N. representative in Iraq, 55-year-old Vieira de Mello, a Brazilian, who was also the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.[1] 22 UN staff members were killed and more than 100 injured in the explosion. The dead also included Nadia Younes, former Executive Director at World Health Organization in charge of External Relations and Governing Bodies. The terrorist attack was condemned by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and denounced by the UN security council.[2]

[edit] June 2004

South Korean translator Kim Sun-il beheaded by followers of al-Zarqawi.[3]

[edit] July 2004

Tawhid and Jihad behead Bulgarian truck drivers Ivaylo Kepov and Georgi Lazov. Al-Jazeera broadcast the videotape containing the killing, but said the portion with the actual killing was too graphic to broadcast.[4]

[edit] December 2004

Italian photographer, 52 year old Salvatore Santoro, beheaded in a video. Islamic Movement of Iraqi Mujahedeen claimed responsibility.[5]

[edit] February 2005

Al-Iraqiya TV (Iraq) aired transcripts of confessions by Syrian intelligence officer Anas Ahmad Al-Issa and Iraqi terrorist Shihab Al-Sab'awi concerning their booby-trap operations, explosions, kidnappings, assassinations, and details of beheading training in Syria.[6]

[edit] July 2005

Video taped beheadings of Egyptian and Algerian envoys.

  • Beheading of two Algerian Diplomats by Al-Quaida. Al-Qaeda in Iraq issued an Internet statement saying it killed two kidnapped Algerian diplomats, Ali Belaroussi and Azzedine Belkadi. “The court of al-Qaeda in Iraq has decided to carry out God’s verdict against the two diplomats from the apostate Algerian government ... and ordered to kill them,” said the statement, which was signed by Abu Maysara al-Iraqi, the al-Qaeda spokesman.[7]
  • Beheading of Egyptian Diplomat by Al-Quaida. Al-Qaida in Iraq posted on a web forum a statement that it killed Egyptian diplomat al-Sherif. Top Sunni cleric Mohamed Sayed Tantawi condemned the killing as a "crime against religion, morality and humanity and a crime that goes against honour and chivalry".[8]

[edit] February 2006

Attack on al-Askari mosque in Samarra, destroying one of the holiest sites in Shi'a Islam, killing over 165 worshippers and igniting sectarian strife and reprisal killings[9]

[edit] June 2006

  • "Insurgents" killed over 12,000 Iraqis over the period of January 2005 - June 2006, according to Iraqi Interior Minister Bayan Jabr, giving the first official count for the largest category of victims of bombings, ambushes and other increasingly deadly attacks.[10]
  • According to the Iraqi Defense Ministry, Private First Class Thomas Tucker and Private First Class Kristian Menchaca were reportedly "killed in a barbaric way," "slaughtered," and tortured to death, and their bodies were so mutilated that DNA tests are being performed to help identify their remains. The alleged group has said it was a revenge for the rape and murder of a 14 year old Iraqi girl and her family in Mahmoudiya by the soldiers of the same brigade.[11]
  • Video of the killing of four Russian diplomats kidnapped in Iraq appear on the Internet. A group called the Mujahideen Shura Council released the hostage video.[12]

[edit] July 2006

  • Kuwaiti News Agency reports that a high ranking Iraqi security source in the Interior ministry said that the final death toll of the 13 August bombings in the Al-Zafaraniyah district in southern Baghdad is 57 killed and 145 injured, most of them women and children.[13] Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki laid the blame with Sunni extremists seeking to escalate the conflict.[14]

[edit] Prison and interrogation abuses by coalition forces

It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse. (Discuss)
It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Iraq prison abuse scandal. (Discuss)

According to the Washington Post, the coalition forces regularly use "torture-like" methods during the interrogation of suspects. Such methods were reportedly applied to people to find the hiding place of Saddam Hussein in Operation Red Dawn. British troops have also on occasion been accused of abusing Iraqi detainees. Such treatment violates article 17 of the Third Geneva Convention and the USA and Britain's official policies on combat and occupation. Despite numerous complaints by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, it took a year before the first US soldier was court-martialed for their actions concerning abuse of Iraqis.

International observers have contrasted this with the Iraqi treatment of Jessica Lynch.

[edit] Unknown date

Eight marine reservists were investigated for abuse and the death of a prisoner, outside Nasiriyah.[15]

A photograph leaked after the initial set shows Spc. Sabrina Harman smiling and giving a thumbs up next to the body of Manadel al-Jamadi. Jamadi was reportedly beaten to death during interrogations in the prison's showers.[16] Death certificates repeatedly stated that prisoners had died "while sleeping", and of "natural reasons". Iraqi doctors are not allowed to investigate the deaths of prisoners, even if death certificates are allegedly forged. No reports of investigations against US military doctors who forged death certificates have been reported.

[edit] Spring 2003

A US veteran sergeant reports witnessing torture in Iraq and the cover-up activities of his commanding officers. Honorably discharged US veteran, Sergeant Frank "Greg" Ford reports that he witnessed war crimes in Samarra, Iraq.[17][18]

Ather Karen al-Mowafakia died in Basra, while in British custody. Details about the investigation are not known.[19]

Gary Bartlam, a British soldier of the Desert Rats, was arrested after submitting film to a photo developers shop in Tamworth, England while on leave. The photographs depict a gagged Iraqi POW suspended hanging by rope from a fork lift, and other pictures seem to show prisoners being forced to perform sexual acts. Bartlam and two other soldiers were convicted at court martial of abuse - a fourth soldier was cleared.[20]

British Lieutenant Colonel Tim Collins was alleged by US Army Major Re Biastre to have been responsible for mistreatment of Iraqi civilians and prisoners of war. Lieutenant Colonel Collins was later cleared of any wrongdoing by an MOD investigation.[21]

[edit] May 2003

In separate incidents, the Royal Military Police declared that Radhi Natna died of a heart attack while in British custody, yet his family reports that he had no heart trouble; and the Black Watch regiment arrested the 17-year-old Ahmad Jabber Kareem Ali in Basra, who then drowned after being ordered to swim across a river despite not being able to swim, according to his friend Ayad Salim Hanoon.[19]

Reservists from the US Army abused Prisoners at Camp Bucca, and were later court-martialed.

Brigadier General Ennis Whitehead III reported that Master Sergeant Lisa Marie Girman, a state trooper, "repeatedly kick[ed a prisoner] in the groin, abdomen and head, and encouraging her subordinate soldiers to do the same,"

Lieutenant colonel Vic Harris reported that Staff Sergeant Scott A. McKenzie who worked at a Pennsylvania Department of Corrections boot-camp-style prison, and Specialist Timothy F. Canjar: held prisoners' legs, encouraged others to then kick them in the groin, stepped on their previously injured arms, and made false sworn statements to the USA Army Criminal Investigation Division.

They received "general, under honorable conditions" discharges, were ordered to forfeit 2 months' salary, and returned to the USA.

Sergeant Shawna Edmondson, also involved in the case, received an "other-than-honorable" discharge, after she requested it instead of being court-martialed.[22]

Hossam Shaltout said the abuse at Camp Bucca was similar to that at Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse, and that his torture included scorpions placed on his body.[23]

Said Shabram died in custody, but no information of the investigation were made public.[19]

[edit] July to December 2003

US forces detained the family of an unidentified lieutenant general to induce him to turn himself in.[24]

The abuses at Abu Ghraib prison were reportedly committed by MPs.[25] There are allegations that private contractors contributed to them as well and that intelligence agencies such as the CIA ordered them to do so in order to break prisoners for interrogations. It is said to be a usual practice in other US prisons as well, such as in Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay.[26]

The International Committee of the Red Cross submitted a detailed report to the U.S. Army in October 2003 about abuses in prisons, and the president of the Red Cross stated he had informed high-ranking members of the Bush administration about the abuses during a meeting in the White House in January 2004. A soldier came forward that month with photos of abuse that he found disturbing, some showed the stacking of prisoners into a human pyramid, with one prisoner's skin visibly bearing a slur written in English. Another showed a prisoner being forced to stand on a box with wires attached to his head and hands, who had reportedly been told that if he fell off the box, he would be electrocuted. Photos released to the public later included a person being attacked by a guard dog, which the soldier involved described as being useful for intimidation of prisoners.[27] It was also reported that an Iraqi hired as a translator raped a juvenile male prisoner while a female soldier took pictures.[28][29] No charges have been brought against the contractor because he does not fall under the military's jurisdiction; it is questionable whether any charges will or even can be brought against him.

Donald Rumsfeld had said that army and government had only been informed in January and not in detail.[30] On January 16, 2004, a press release was issued by the United States Central Command (CENTCOM) stating that an investigation had been initiated in response to allegations of detainee abuse at an unspecified detention facility (now known to be Abu Ghraib prison).[31]

In March 2004, 6 soldiers in Abu Ghraib were charged with dereliction of duty, cruelty and maltreatment, and sexual abuse. 17 others were suspended from duty, including the seven U.S. officers who ran the prison. Also recommended for discipline was Brig. Gen Janis Karpinski, the commander of the 800th brigade. The Red Cross, which had access to these prisons, has stated that the instances of torture were not aberrations but were systemic. Some officers have attempted to defend themselves by saying that they were only doing their duty.

In response to ongoing complaints, the US military initiated a program to reform the internment and treatment systems. The reforms are expected to increase safeguards for prisoners' rights, to ensure each prisoner receives a copy of their internment order, and has their charges explained to them within 72 hours. They additionally plan to publicly post information about detainees so that family members can know what happened to their loved ones. Reforms were made in March 2004.

Theft of prisoner's possessions by soldiers, dirty, cramped quarters and bad food, prisoners forced into uncomfortable positions for prolonged periods of time, extreme exposure to the elements, and excessive jailings of people based on the paid testimony of individual informants were reported. 55-year old cafe owner Mahmoud Khodair, who was arrested and held for six months before being released in early march without ever knowing what he was charged with, stated, "It was just like hell", and "Nothing has changed since Saddam. Before, the Mukhabarat [secret police] would take us away, and at least they wouldn't blow down the door. Now, some informant fingers you and gets $100 even if you're innocent."[32]

During April 2004 the media started to report on the abuse. The journalist Seymour Hersh (who was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for his disclosure of the Vietnam War tragedy at the hamlet of My Lai) published a series of articles in The New Yorker with photo coverage of U.S. soldiers abusing prisoners in the Abu Ghraib prison on 2004-04-30.[33]

In an interview with Dan Rather, the deputy director of operations for the US-led coalition, Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt, stated "We're appalled. These are our fellow soldiers. These are the people we work with every day. They represent us. They wear the same uniform as us, and they let their fellow soldiers down. If we can't hold ourselves up as an example of how to treat people with dignity and respect, we can't ask that other nations do that to our soldiers."

On May 1, 2004, photos of prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq being abused and humiliated by United States soldiers provoke an international outrage.[34]

Furthering the charges, excerpts from the Abu Ghraib Taguba report were published on May 3, 2004. The report documented: the sodomizing of a prisoner with a chemical light, pouring phosphoric liquid on detainees, rape of a female prisoner, forced masturbation, "ghost detainees" moved around to avoid the Red Cross, and many other abuses.[35][36]

The release of the photographs and reports had led to renewed calls for investigations into the abuses reported in other US military prisons, such as Camp X-Ray and Camp Delta.[37]

On May 14, 2004, reporters for the Guardian documented a coercive technique which soldiers called "bitch in a box". The prisoner was shoved into the trunk of a car on a hot day, and driven around until the prisoner was near ready to pass out. Another technique documented was "waterboarding", which involves holding a prisoner underwater until the prisoner believed he was about to drown. They also interviewed many soldiers not involved in the current scandal, who claimed that they were taught to use sleep deprivation, to stage mock executions, and to use other procedures. One platoon leader who objected to these practices was reportedly told that his stand could end his military career.[38]

USA Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld told an armed services committee of the Senate on 2004-05-07 that "There are a lot more photographs and videos that exist [...] I looked at them last night and they're hard to believe [...] The pictures I've seen depict conduct, behaviour that is so brutal and so cruel and so inhumane that anyone engaged in it or involved in it would have to be brought to justice." He also said that the abused detainees may be offered compensation.[39]

In a scene described as "surreal" by AFP, it was found in mid May, 2004 that US troops were handing out cash to freed prisoners along with a note stating "You have not been mistreated.". A reporter visiting the prison Camp War Horse described the tour:

"Have you been mistreated?" the governor asks the detainees, dressed in orange boilersuits.
"No. We have never been tortured," chorused those behind bars as some 50 soldiers stood nearby.[40]

[edit] August 2003

It was claimed that eleven Iraqis had been severely beaten by members of the SAS in Majar al Kabir; they were released and paid compensation for their injuries.[19]

Sadiq Zoman , 57, is delivered in a vegetative state, to a hospital in Tikrit. His body bearing telltale signs of torture: burn marks on his skin, bludgeon marks on the back of his head, a badly broken thumb, electrical burns on the soles of his feet. Additionally, family members say they found whipmarks across his back and more electrical burns on his genitalia. He had entered US custody healthy barely 1 month earlier.[41]

Hassan Abbad Said died in custody, but no information of the investigation were made public.[19]

[edit] September 2003

Soldiers from the Queen's Lancashire Regiment were accused of beating to death Baha Mousa, hotel worker.[19] The case is now the subject of a British court martial.

[edit] November 2003

An al Jazeera cameraman, Salah Hassan, reported various abuses in the infamous Abu Ghraib prison complex, such as being forced to strip naked, standing up for 11 hours and being kicked when he collapsed, being forced to wear a vomit-covered jumpsuit, and many other abuses. He later also witnessed a 12- or 13-year-old girl who was stripped naked and beaten. Her brother was held in another cell and heard her screams.[42]

[edit] January 2004

January 3: Marwan Hassoun and his cousin Zaydun Al-Samarrai are taken from their broken-down truck at about curfew time and forced to jump from the Tharthar dam into the Tigris River; the latter drowns. First Lt. Jack M. Saville and Sgt. 1st Class Tracy E. Perkins were charged on 2004 June 7 with manslaughter, assault, conspiracy, false statements, and obstruction of justice. Sgt. Reggie Martinez was charged three weeks later with manslaughter and for making false statements, and Spec. Terry Bowman with assault and making false statements.[43] Martinez' and Bowman's charges were dropped; Perkins got six months in jail.[44]

[edit] Daily Mirror false allegations

Alleged photographs of prisoner abuses by UK troops were published by the Daily Mirror[45] within 48 hours of the breaking of the story of abuses by US troops in the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.

General Sir Mike Jackson, Chief of the General Staff, said "if proven, the perpetrators are not fit to wear the Queen's uniform and they have besmirched the Army's good name and conduct".

The authenticity of the photographs was called into question a day later. In particular, a number of specifics in the images, such as the type of rifles the soldiers in the pictures are carrying and the type of truck pictured did not match the equipment used by UK troops in Iraq. The Mirror responded to these criticisms of the photographs on May 3, 2004.[46]

On May 14, 2004, the Daily Mirror reported that the pictures it had published, allegedly showing UK troops abusing an Iraqi prisoner, were fake and that "the Daily Mirror has been the subject of a calculated and malicious hoax."[47][48] The Daily Mirror editor, Piers Morgan, was sacked due to the controversy.

[edit] Rape Accusations

On May 11, 2004, The Boston Globe covered a press conference by Boston City Councilor Chuck Turner and local civil rights activist Sadiki Kambon during which they distributed photographs they alleged showed American soldiers raping Iraqi woman.[49] In its early editions on May 12th, photographs from the event clearly showed some of the pictures presented, the Globe later apologized for the error.[50] Other news agencies quickly responded to the story by linking the photographs to American and Hungarian pornography sites.[51][52] One week prior to the press conference, WorldNetDaily had published a story detailing the origin of these pictures and how they were being used as propaganda.[53]

[edit] Amnesty International report

Amnesty International claimed that British soldiers had killed innocent civilians who were no threat, had kicked a prisoner to death and that the British military did not investigate the abuses appropriately.[54]

[edit] June 2004

The Pentagon confirms a report in the New York Times that CIA chief George Tenet was allowed by U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld to have an Iraqi prisoner secretly detained at Camp Cropper in November, preventing the International Committee of the Red Cross from monitoring their treatment, a possible violation of the Geneva Conventions.[55]

June 29: Oregon national guardsmen intervene in the beating of bound prisoners on the grounds of the Iraqi Interior Ministry; are told to back off and let the newly "sovereign" Iraqis run their own affairs.[56]

[edit] July 2004

The International Red Cross reports that more than 100 children were kept in six different prisons of the coalition. Witnesses say US forces also abused children and youths. Soldier Samuel Provance from Abu Ghraib reported the harassment of a 15 to 16 year old girl in her cell as well as a 16 year old boy who was driven through the cold after he had been showered and who was then covered with mud. Allegations have been made that children have been subjected to torture and rape. This has been used to make detained parents talk in cases where other interrogation methods have failed. Seymour Hersh told a San Francisco audience: "what happened is that those women who were arrested with young boys, children, in cases that have been [video] recorded, the boys were sodomized, with the cameras rolling... the worst above all of them is the soundtrack of the boys shrieking." An unpublished Unicef report is said to include statements about children that were arrested in Basra and Kerbela and routinely detained in Umm Kasr. The children are said to be without contact to their families and cannot expect a trial.[57][58][59]

[edit] August 2004

Death penalty "reluctantly" reinstated in Iraq "until stability [is] restored."[60]

[edit] December 2004

Reports of mock executions by the US Marines in Iraq have surfaced in December 2004, as the ACLU published internal documents of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) obtained through the Freedom of Information Act. The documents were written seven weeks after the publication of the photographs which triggered the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal.[61]

Several torture cases were also reported, notably torture by electricity, beatings, and sprayings of prisoners with fire extinguishers.

On the 21st of December, the ACLU released further documents[62] documenting tortures. Notably, in a case of shooting of suspects without warning, Army commanders are reported to have interfered with the investigation. Procedures of autopsy of detainees who died in unclear circumstances have been canceled by battalion and group commands. Other cases include

  • An apparent attempt by a soldier in Baghdad to force a detainee to hold a gun to create the appearance of a justifiable homicide.
  • Two mock executions of Iraqi juveniles by Army personnel (documents obtained by the ACLU two weeks ago showed that U.S. Marines had also conducted a mock execution of juvenile detainees).
  • Allegations of a competition among Army dog handlers at Abu Ghraib prison to see who could make Iraqi detainees urinate themselves the fastest.
  • The use of death threats during interrogations. Command failures in providing appropriate training to military interrogators in Baghdad detention facilities.[63]

[edit] January 2005

On the 24th of January 2005, the ACLU accused the Pentagon of deliberately closing investigations over Human Rights violations and torture cases before they were over.[64]

Human Rights Watch accused Iraqi security forces of using torture and improper treatments on prisoners. Arbitrary arrests and long periods of isolation are now common. Human Right Watch interviewed 90 prisoners, among which 72 said they had been tortured during interrogation. Sarah Leah Whitson, HRW director, said that the Iraqi provisional government was not holding to its promise to stand by Human Rights: "A new Iraqi government requires more than a change of leadership - it requires a change of attitude about basic human dignity" .

"During the first three days there was continuous torture. I was beaten with an aluminum rod and with cables. ? Then I was told to sign a statement with my hands tied behind my back, so I didn't even see the paper and I don't know what I signed."

Among bad treatments were such elements as beatings with cables, electric shocks, including on genitals, being tied and blindfolded for days, cells so crowded that it is only possible to stand, arbitrary detention, refusal of trials, access to lawyers or contacts with families. These treatments were inflicted to insurgents and criminals alike.[65][66][67]

[edit] September 2005

In a report published by Human Rights Watch in September 2005, U.S. Troops are accused to routinely torture prisoners in Iraq. Two sergeants and a captain describe e.g. the breaking of a detainee’s leg, and applying chemical substances to detainees’ skin and eyes. Capt. Ian Fishback of the 82nd Airborne who made persistent efforts over 17 months to raise concerns about detainee abuse with his chain of command was consistently told to ignore abuses and to “consider your career.” When he made an appointment with Senate staff members of Senators John McCain and John Warner, he says his commanding officer denied him a pass to leave his base.[68][69]

[edit] November 2005

-173 detainees found in an Iraqi government bunker in Baghdad were found starved, beaten and tortured.[70][71]

-Colin Powell's former Chief of Staff, Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson, stated in an interview with Amy Goodman on November 22 that:[72]

"the difficulties [our troops face] come from the two decisions that I had the most insight into that were made in this more or less alternative decision-making process. And those two decisions were the inept and incompetent planning for post-invasion Iraq, and [...] the decision... from that alternative decision-making process to depart from the Geneva Conventions and from international law, in general.
"[The President's memorandum said] the spirit of Geneva would be adhered to... consistent with military necessity. [...] It did not say 'consistent with national security demands.' It did not say 'consistent with the demands of the war on terror.' It said 'consistent with military needs.' Now, military needs are very simple and clear to a man like me who spent 31 years in the military. It means that if one of my buddy's life is threatened or my life is threatened, I can take drastic action. I can even shoot a detainee. And I can expect not to be punished under Geneva, or at least if I am court-martialed, I have a defense. It doesn't mean that I can take a detainee in a cold, dark cell in Bagram, Afghanistan, for example, in December 2002, shackled to the wall, and pour cold water on him at intervals when the outside temperature is 50 degrees anyway, and eventually kill him, which is what happened."

The Haditha killings occurred on November 19 in the town of Haditha, Iraq. A convoy of United States Marines was attacked with an improvised explosive device which killed Lance Corporal Miguel Terrazas. Up to twenty-four Iraqis were subsequently killed; it is alleged that they were non-combatant local residents who were massacred by Marines in the aftermath of the insurgent attack.[73]

[edit] December 2005

John Pace, human rights chief for the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI), told Reuters that there were an estimated 14,000 people being held in prison in Iraq contrary to UN Resolution 1546, according to which the US government claims legal permission to occupy Iraq. In a December 5, 2005, interview, Pace said,

"All [prisoners in Iraq] except those held by the Ministry of Justice are, technically speaking, held against the law because the Ministry of Justice is the only authority that is empowered by law to detain, to hold anybody in prison.
"Essentially none of these people have any real recourse to protection and therefore we speak ... of a total breakdown in the protection of the individual in this country.
"It's very rare to get judges ordering you to be released and effectively the police respecting that order.
"We have cases also where the judge who has ordered a group of people to be released, about 50-60 people, and the police, the Interior Ministry simply refuses.
"We have another case in another part of the country where the judge was actually the subject of reprisal for having found people not getting, as ordered, their release.
"The judge is now in jail.
"The judiciary has a lot to answer for in this country. It is really not carrying out its duties," he said, adding that bribes were sometimes paid for jobs in the judiciary and police.
"This is not denied," Pace said. "This is symptomatic of the corruption problems in this country and stands in the way of any kind of rule of law."[74]

[edit] June 2006

According to the Iraqi Defense Ministry, Private First Class Thomas Tucker and Private First Class Kristian Menchaca were reportedly "killed in a barbaric way," "slaughtered," and tortured to death, and their bodies were so mutilated that DNA tests are being performed to help identify their remains. The alleged group has said it was a revenge for the rape and murder of a 14 year old Iraqi girl and her family in Mahmoudiya by the soldiers of the same brigade.[75]

Video of the killing of four Russian diplomats kidnapped in Iraq appear on the Internet. A group called the Mujahideen Shura Council released the hostage video.[76]

[edit] Investigations

Several sets of investigations, both congressional via the Senate Armed Services Committee, military via courts-martial, and criminal for non-military contractors, were launched in response to the scandal.

Seymour Hersh, who exposed the Abu Ghraib scandal, and reports in Newsweek, has taken the case even further.[77][78] In 2003, Donald Rumsfeld instituted a policy that "encouraged physical coercion and sexual humiliation of Iraqi prisoners in an effort to generate more intelligence about the growing insurgency in Iraq.". This policy stemmed from an earlier policy taken toward al-Qaeda prisoners. A memo to the Bush White House from councel Alberto Gonzales claimed that the new sort of war renders the Geneva Conventions' limitations on interrogating enemy prisoners "obsolete". The program was approved by the CIA, NSA, and the National Security Council. President George W. Bush was informed of it. The undersecretary of Defense for intelligence Steven Cambone administered the operation. His deputy, William Boykin, instructed the head of operations at Camp X-ray Maj. Gen. Geoffrey Miller to do the same at Abu Ghraib. Miller told Brig. Gen. Janis Karpinski that the prison would now be dedicated to gathering intelligence. Douglas Feith and William Haynes were also involved in the operation.

On May 18, 2004, a military intelligence analyst named Samuel Provance came out to the press, stating "There's definitely a cover-up". Provance, who ran a computer network used by military intelligence in the prison and who had been ordered not to speak to the press, told ABC News "Anything [the MPs] were to do legally or otherwise, they were to take those commands from the interrogators," and that the sexual humiliation began as a technique ordered by the investigators. He described several of the goings-on in the prison that he witnessed, such as the punching people in the neck hard enough to knock them unconscious after assuring them they weren't going to be hit, in order to catch them off guard. He also stated that Maj. Gen. George Fay, the Army's deputy chief of staff for intelligence, has shown little interest in investigating the interrogators and has gone only after the MPs, and that there is a culture of silence right now among those involved, who fear that if they say anything, the investigations will turn to them.[79]

On May 19, 2004, a court martial hearing was held for Cpl. Charles A. Graner Jr., who has been accused of being the ringleader of the group employing torture at Abu Ghraib. In an unexpected move, all three key witnesses - Lt. Col. Steven L. Jordan, Capt. Donald J. Reese, and contractor Adel L. Nakhla - refused to testify. This is an almost unheard of action. Under court martial proceedings, one cannot refuse to testify unless they have a belief that they will be exposed to criminal charges for doing so. Consequently, it is likely that the investigative proceedings will be forced to move higher up the chain of command.[80]

[edit] Alleged War crimes by coalition forces

[edit] January 2004

A suspected Iraqi insurgent leaving what was said to be a weapon on the recorded conversation
A suspected Iraqi insurgent leaving what was said to be a weapon on the recorded conversation
A suspected Iraqi insurgent, above the car on the left, lying wounded and recognised as such on the recorded conversation, immediately before being fired upon.
A suspected Iraqi insurgent, above the car on the left, lying wounded and recognised as such on the recorded conversation, immediately before being fired upon.

In January, a video footage was shown on ABC TV, taken from the gun camera of a US Apache helicopter on active duty in Iraq and showing the killing of suspected Iraqi insurgents. Controversy arose around the case, due to the ambiguity of the video. A cylindrical object is tossed on the ground on a field, which could either be some agricultural device, an RPG or a mortar tube and was identified as being a weapon by the flight crew) the helicopter opened fire on a man identified as wounded, in contradiction with international laws.[81][82][83]

On German television,[84] Retired General Robert Gard (US Army) stated that the incident was in his opinion "inexcusable murders".

[edit] April 2004

Eyewitness reports from residents fleeing the city, peace activists, and an aid worker from Doctors Without Borders[85] alleged that the tactics used by U.S. Marines in the siege of Fallujah were a violation of the laws of war and human rights. They alleged that Marine snipers targeted civilians and medical personnel.[86][87][88][89][90][91] Many newspaper reports indicated that a significant proportion of the casualties in Fallujah were women and children.[92][93][94][95][96] In a newspaper interview,[97] a US sniper described Fallujah as "target-rich", and stated "as a sniper your goal is to completely demoralize the enemy". There were also reports that US and Spanish troops forced Fallujah hospitals to be evacuated when they were needed most urgently.[98] The U.S. military mostly denied the allegations, or refused to comment on them.

[edit] Lieutenant Ilario Pantano

On April 14, 2004 it was alleged that Lieutenant Ilario Pantano of the United States Marine Corps, killed two unarmed captives. Lieutenant Pantano claimed that the captives had advanced on him in a threatening manner. The officer who presided over his article 32 hearing recommended a court martial for his body desecration, but all charges against Lieutenant Pantano were dropped due to lack of credible evidence or testimony. He subsequently resigned from the Marine Corps with an honorable discharge.

[edit] May 2004

According to reports parts or all of the village of Mukaradeeb were attacked by American helicopters on May 19, 2004, killing 42 men, women and children. The casualties, 11 of whom were women and 14 were children, were confirmed by Hamdi Noor al-Alusi, the manager of the nearest hospital. Western journalists also viewed the bodies of the children before they were buried.

The film Valley of the Wolves Iraq depicts the event as an intentional massacre.

[edit] November 2005

In November, Marines have been accused of committing the Haditha killings, where it is alleged that 24 unarmed civilians, among them 11 women and children, were killed.

[edit] February 2006

In February 2006 a video showing a group of British soldiers apparently beating several Iraqi teenagers was posted on the internet, and shortly thereafter, on the main television networks around the world. The video, taken from an upper story of a building in the southern Iraqi town of Al-Amarah, shows many Iraqis outside a coalition compound. Following an altercation in which members of the crowd tossed rocks and reportedly an improvised grenade at the solders, the British soldiers rushed the crowd. The troopers brought some Iraqi teenagers into the compound and proceeded to beat them. The video includes a voiceover in an British accent, apparently by the cameraman, taunting the beaten teenagers.

The individual recording it could be heard saying:

Oh, yes! Oh Yes! Now you gonna get it. You litte kids. You little motherfucking bitch!, you little motherfucking bitch.[99] Video

The event was broadcast in mainstream media, resulting in the British government and military condemning the event. The incident has become especially worrisome for British soldiers, who had enjoyed a much more favourable position than American Soldiers in the region. Concerns were voiced to the media about the safety of soldiers in the country after the incident. The tape incurred criticism, albeit relatively muted, from Iraq, and media "vox-popping" in the country of course found people prepared to speak out. The Royal Military Police conducted an investigation into the event, and the prosecuting authorities determined that there was insufficient case to justify court martial proceedings.[100]

The Al Askari Mosque bombing occurred on February 22, 2006 at approximately 6:55am local time (0355 UTC) at the Al Askari Mosque — one of the holiest sites in Shi'a Islam — in the Iraqi city of Samarra, some 100 km (60 miles) northwest of Baghdad. Although no injuries occurred in the blast, the bombing resulted in violence over the following days. Over 100 dead bodies with bullet holes were found on February 23, and at least 165[101] people are thought to have been killed.

[edit] March 2006

On March 12, four US soldiers from the 502nd Infantry Regiment raped and murdered a 14-year old girl before killing the other three members of her family and burning her body. The Mahmudiyah incident was characterized as a "crime of opportunity" by military officials, and remains under investigation.

On March 15, 11 Iraqi civilians were allegedly bound and executed by American troops in what is termed the Ishaqi incident. A U.S. investigation found that US military personnel had acted appropriately, and had followed the proper rules of engagement in responding to hostile fire and incrementally escalating force until the threat was eliminated. The Iraqi government has rejected the American conclusions and will launch its own investigation.

[edit] April 2006

On April 26, an Iraqi civilian was killed in an incident in al-Hamdania which lead to an internal probe by the US military into possible war crimes by the Marines involved.

[edit] June 2006

BAGHDAD, June 2 — the then Iraqi Interior Minister Bayan Jabr announced that terrorist bombings, ambushes and other attacks had claimed the lives of 12,000 Iraqis over the past 18 months, giving the first official count for the largest category of victims.[102]

On June 15, following an investigation by the US Army Criminal Investigation Command, three members of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, Private Corey R. Clagett, Staff Sergeant Raymond L. Girouard, and Specialist William B. Hunsaker were charged with "murder, attempted murder, conspiracy, communicating a threat, and obstructing justice" in relation to the deaths of three Iraqi detainees at the Muthana Chemical Complex and threats to kill fellow soldier Private Bradley L. Mason if he revealed details to investigators. The Iraqis were allegedly shot execution-style after they were detained during a combat operation near Thar Thar Canal, southwest of Tikrit, on 09 May.[103][104]

Main article: Mahmudiyah incident
On July 10, U.S. military officials stated that four U.S. soldiers in active service were charged for the gang-rape and murder a 14 year old Iraqi girl, and the murder of her parents and 7 year old sister after plotting the event for almost a week in Mahmudiyah. A fifth person, ex-soldier Steven Green was arrested on July 3 for the same crime by the F.B.I.[105]

[edit] The current state of human rights

There have been major criticisms by numerous human rights organizations and Sunni officials that the current Shiite led government of Iraq has been systematically arresting, torturing or killing Sunnis or those who they deem the enemy [1][2][3] [4].Shite interior ministry death squads have been accused of torturing and killing many Sunni individuals and the Iraqi Interior Minister had admitted to the presence of Shiite death squads in the Shiite led Iraqi government [5][6][7].There have been accusations of the use of rape and sexual torture of children of detainees to facilitate the extraction of information.

Human Rights Watch released an extensive report on the systematic use of torture and other abuses against detainees in Iraqi prisons by the current Iraqi regime.[8].

[edit] Sectarian warfare in Iraq

Iraq is in a state of sectarian civil war. Small groups as well as militia engage in bombings in civilian areas and in assassination of officials of various levels, and against Shiites, Sunnis, and smaller religious minorities. Secular-oriented individuals, officials of the new government, aides to the United States (such as translators), individuals and families of the nation's various religious groups are subject to violence and death threats.

[edit] Refugee response to threats to life

As a result of murder attempts and death threats 2 million Iraqis have left Iraq. They have mainly gone to Syria, Jordan and Egypt. [9]

See also Refugees of Iraq.

[edit] Comparison to the Saddam Regime

Iraq under Saddam Hussein was notorious for high levels of torture and mass murder. Mostly targeted were opposition movements after Kurdish and Shiite uprisings, which were often supported by foreign intelligence agencies. The violence was much more selective and targeted, instead of being random.

The total number of deaths related to torture and murder during the Hussein period are unknown as are the reports of human rights violations. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International issued regular reports of widespread imprisonment and torture.

[edit] Propaganda

On February 17, 2006 U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld reports about new realities in the media age:[106]

"In Iraq, for example, the U.S. military command, working closely with the Iraqi government and the U.S. embassy, has sought nontraditional means to provide accurate information to the Iraqi people in the face of aggressive campaign of disinformation. Yet this has been portrayed as inappropriate; for example, the allegations of someone in the military hiring a contractor, and the contractor allegedly paying someone to print a story—a true story—but paying to print a story."

"The U.S. military plans to continue paying Iraqi newspapers to publish articles favorable to the United States after an inquiry found no fault with the controversial practice," Army General George Casey said March 3, 2006. Casey said that "the internal review had concluded that the U.S. military was not violating U.S. law or Pentagon guidelines with the information operations campaign, in which U.S. troops and a private contractor write pro-American articles and pay to have them planted without attribution in Iraqi media."[107]

The legal status of Freedom of Speech and the Press is also unclear in Iraq. Both freedoms are promised in the Iraqi Constitution, with exemptions for Islamic morality and national security. However, the operating Iraqi Criminal Code of 1969 has vague prohibitions to using the press or any electronic means of communication for "indecent" purposes.

[edit] Other human rights

The United States through the CPA abolished the death penalty (since reinstated) and ordered that Criminal Code of 1969 and the Civil Code of 1974 would be the operating legal system in Iraq. However, there has been some debate as to how far the CPA rules have been applied.

For example, the Iraqi Criminal Code of 1969 does not prohibit forming a trade union and the Iraqi Constitution promises that such an organization will be recognized (a right under Article 23 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights), but for some reason the Iraqi courts and special tribunal seem to be operating under a slightly revised version of the 1988 legal code, and thus a 1987 ban on unions might still be in place.

Likewise, while the Iraqi Criminal Code of 1969 or the apparent 1988 edition do not expressly prohibit homosexual relations between consenting adults in private (a right under a United Nations Human Rights Commission ruling in 1994), scattered reports seem to suggest that homosexuality is still being treated as a crime, possible a capital crime under a 2001 amendment that technically should not exist. For more information on this topic see Gay rights in Iraq.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

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[edit] External links

[edit] General human rights

  • [10] Human Rights Watch: Background on the Crisis in Iraq (a contents page for the organization's various reports on Iraq, mostly after Saddam's regime fell)
  • [11] U.S. Department of State Country Report on Human Rights Practices: Iraq, 2005 (released March 8, 2006)
  • [12] Freedom House 2006 report on Iraq

[edit] Torture

[edit] Death Squads


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