* Testimonies of Crimes Against Humanity in Fallujah

A/HRC/13/42
Joint study on secret detention of the Special Rapporteur on torture & other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights & fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism, the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention & the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances.

http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/docs/13session/A-HRC-13-42.doc

Iraq

1. With regard to secret detention practiced by the Iraqi government, the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) referred to “unofficial detention” by Iraqi authorities, notably the Ministry of Interior, in several of its reports.[1] One facility, Al-Jadiriya, is mentioned repeatedly in this connection.[2] In 2006, drawing attention to the lack of effective investigations after its discovery UNAMI noted that “One year after the discovery of the illegal detention centre of Al-Jadiriya’s bunker in Baghdad, on 13 November 2005, where 168 detainees were unlawfully detained and abused, the United Nations and international NGOs […] continue to request that the Government of Iraq publish the findings of the investigation on this illegal detention. It may be recalled that a Joint-Inspection Committee was established after the discovery of the Al-Jadiryia’s bunker in November 2005, in order to establish the general conditions of detention. The existence of the bunker was revealed after a raid of the Ministry of Interior’s bunker by MNF I/Iraqi forces. The Iraqi Government should start a judicial investigation into human rights violations in Al-Jadiriya. The failure to publish the Al-Jadiriya report, as well as other investigations carried out by the Government regarding conditions of detention in the country, remains a matter of serious concern and affects Iraq’s commitment to establish a new system based on the respect of human rights and the rule of law.”[3] Another unofficial place of detention under the Minsitry of Interior was the so-called “Site 4.” UNAMI described the following: “On 30 May [2006], a joint inspection led by the Deputy Prime Minister and MNF-I, in a prison known as “Site 4,” revealed the existence of 1,431 detainees with systematic evidence of physical and psychological abuse. Related to alleged abuses committed at “Site 4,” a probe by 3 separate investigative committees was set up. After two and a half months, the probe concluded that 57 employees, including high-ranking officers, of the Ministry of Interior were involved in degrading treatment of prisoners. Arrests warrants against them were allegedly issued, but no arrests have reportedly yet taken place.”[4]

2. In relation to Kurdistan province, UNAMI noted in 2006: “Despite concrete acknowledgement by the KRG [Kurdistan Regional Government] of the arrest of individuals by […] intelligence and security forces and their detention at unofficial detention facilities, there appears to be little impetus by the authorities to effectively address this pervasive and serious human rights concern. There has been little official denial of the existence and sometimes locations of secret and illegal detention cells in Suleimaniya and Erbil which are often no more than rooms in private houses and government buildings.” UNAMI reiterated in 2007 that “the practice of administrative detention of persons held in the custody of the Asayish (security) forces in the Kurdistan region, the majority having been arrested on suspicion of involvement in acts of terrorism and other serious crimes. Many are said by officials to be members or supporters of proscribed Islamist groups. Hundreds of detainees have been held for prolonged periods, some for several years, without referral to an investigative judge or charges brought against them. In some cases, detainees were arrested without judicial warrant and all are routinely denied the opportunity to challenge the lawfulness of their detention. UNAMI also continues to receive allegations of the torture or ill-treatment of detainees in Asayish detention facilities. […] On 28 January and again on 27 February [2007], families of detainees arrested by Asayish forces demonstrated before the Kurdistan National Assembly in Erbil, demanding information on the whereabouts of detained relatives and the reasons for their arrest […].”[5] In 2009, UNAMI further reported that “The KRG 2006 Anti-Terrorism Law, which forms the legal basis for many arrests, has been extended into mid-2010. […]UNAMI/HRO continues to document serious violations of the rights of suspects and those deprived of their liberties by the KRG authorities. These include claims of beatings during interrogation, torture by electric shocks, forced confessions, secret detention facilities, and a lack of medical attention. Abuse is often committed by masked men or while detainees are blindfolded. [6]

3. The Experts took up the case of a group of individuals arrested and held in secret detention for prolonged periods in the spring 2009 in connection with accusations against Mr. Al-Dainy, a former member of Parliament.[7] According to the allegations received, several former collaborators of Mr. Dainy were arrested in February 2009, held in secret detention at a number of different locations. In particular, they were detained in a prison in the Green Zone run by the Baghdad Brigade. Their families were not notified of their whereabouts for several months. The current location of eleven persons is still not known. While being held at the Baghdad Brigade prison, most of them were severely ill-treated, including by beating with cables, suspension from the ceiling with either the feet or hands upwards for up to two days, or electroshocks. Some had black bags put over their heads and were suffocated for several minutes until the bodies became blue several times in a row. Also, some had plastic sticks introduced in the anus. They were also threatened with the rape of members of their families. They were forced to sign and fingerprint pre-prepared confessions. As a result of the ill-treatment, several of them had visible injuries on several parts of their bodies. Many lost considerably weight.

[1] UNAMI Human Rights Report 1 November– 31 December 2005, paras 9-11;
[2] UAMIT Human Rights Report 1 July – 31 August 2006 , paras 70-73; UNAMI Human Rights Report 1 May –30 June 2006, paras 76-78;
[3] UNAMI Human Rights Report 1 November - 31 December 2006, paras 90 – 91.
[4] UNAMI Human Rights Report 1 November - 31 December 2006, para 92.
[5] UNAMI Human Rights Report 1 January – 31 March 2007, paras 73 – 75.
[6] United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq, Human Rights Report, 1 July to 31 December 2008, May 2009; paras. 91,92; http://uniraq.org/documents/UNAMI_Human_Rights_Report_July_December_2008_EN.pdf . See also: Amnesty International, “Hope and Fear: Human Rights in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq,” April 2009, http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/MDE14/006/2009/en/c2e5ae23-b204-4b46-b7f5-06dc1501f62f/mde140062009en.pdf .
[7] Report of the Special Rapporteur on torture (/HRC/13/39/Add.1) and report of the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (A/HRC/13/31), para. 295.