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U.S. detentions, immunity for troops slammed
(Reuters)
Updated: 2005-09-14 21:38
Iraq's justice minister has condemned the U.S. military for detaining
thousands of Iraqis for long periods without charge and wants to change a U.N.
resolution that gives foreign troops immunity from Iraqi law.
Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari (L) sits
with Muslim spiritual leader Imam Hassan al-Qazwini after arriving for a
two day visit with Iraqi Americans in Dearborn, Michigan, September 13,
2005. Iraq's justice minister has condemned the U.S. military for
detaining thousands of Iraqis for long periods without charge and wants to
change a U.N. resolution that gives foreign troops immunity from Iraqi
law. [Reuters] |
Speaking to Reuters, Justice
Minister Abdul Hussein Shandal also criticized U.S. detentions of Iraqi
journalists and said the media, contrary to U.S. policy in Iraq, must have
special legal protection to report on all sides in the conflict.
"No citizen should be arrested without a court order," he said this week,
complaining that U.S. suggestions that his ministry has an equal say on
detentions were misleading.
"There is abuse (of human rights) due to detentions, which are overseen by
the Multinational Force (MNF) and are not in the control of the justice
ministry," said Shandal, a Shi'ite judge respected for standing up to Saddam
Hussein on the rule of law.
Killings and unjustified arrests of Iraqi civilians by U.S. troops risked
going unpunished, he said, because of U.N. Security Council resolution 1546,
which granted U.S.-led forces sweeping powers following their overthrow of
Saddam in 2003.
"The resolution ... gives immunity to the MNF and means taking no action
against the MNF no matter what happens or whatever they do against the people of
Iraq," Shandal said.
"We're hoping to make more efforts with the Security Council and the whole
United Nations to end this resolution or amend it so that anyone who violates
Iraqi law or assaults any citizen is held accountable," he said. "This is a
matter of sovereignty."
He said he was pressing the occupying forces to speed up releases for some of
the 10,000 Iraqis held at Abu Ghraib prison and elsewhere, often for many months
without charge, on suspicion of aiding Sunni Arab insurgents.
Last month, 1,000 men were freed from Abu Ghraib, notorious under Saddam and
under U.S. control since 2003, as Iraq's Shi'ite-led government and Washington
tried to appease the once dominant Sunni minority. The United Nations said last
week faster releases could promote Sunni acceptance of the new political system.
Iraqi officials voice frustration with U.S. and British vetoes on some
requests for release, noting that Iraqis have been held for two years without
charge to "gather intelligence."
Speaking of the Combined Review and Release Board (CRRB) which guarantees
detainees a hearing every six months, Shandal said: "The representatives of the
MNF in the committee have the rights and all the authority under the U.N.
resolution."
MEDIA RIGHTS
Shandal said he was concerned about the U.S. military's refusal to accord
special consideration to the media and at the number of journalists detained for
many months by U.S. troops.
Among these are two cameramen for Reuters. One of them is Ali Omar Abrahem
al-Mashhadani, who was ordered detained by the CRRB last month as a "threat to
the people of Iraq." The military will not say what suspicions it has against
him.
Asked to clarify the CRRB definition of "threat," Shandal said: "It's a
catch-all term to portray this person as a threat to the nation and allow the
other side to keep him in custody."
Asked if the government approved of such measures, which U.S. generals say
they implement with Iraqi official support, he said: "I am a man of law and a
judge and I respect human rights ... No citizen should be arrested without a
court order."
Though the nature of their work brings journalists under suspicion from both
sides, the U.S. command in Iraq refuses to consider special treatment for
accredited reporters and says it will detain them under the same conditions as
any other suspect.
Shandal, however, said journalists needed special protection and defended
independent reporting from all sides, including from rebel-held areas. He
insisted on journalists' right to film and interview Iraq's insurgents without
fear of arrest or worse.
"In this time of conflict ... between terrorists and the army or
Multinational Forces, the journalist comes to the fore.
"Full freedom should be given to journalists to take pictures and film in the
field," he said. "Without images what would we know of history? ... We would
know nothing."
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