csua.org/u/ata -> story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=578&e=1&u=/nm/20050125/ts_nm/iraq_rights_dc
web sites) were promised something be tter than this after the government of Saddam Hussein fell," said Sarah Leah Whitson, executive director of the group's Middle East and North Af rica division. "The Iraqi interim government is not keeping its promises to honor and re spect basic human rights. Sadly, the Iraqi people continue to suffer fro m a government that acts with impunity in its treatment of detainees." "Detainees report kicking, slapping and punching, prolonged suspension fr om the wrists with the hands tied behind the back, electric shocks to se nsitive parts of the body ... and being kept blindfolded and/or handcuff ed continuously for several days," the group said in a report. "In several cases, the detainees suffered what may be permanent physical disability." The report also said Iraq's intelligence service had violated the rights of political opponents. It highlighted the systematic use of arbitrary arrest, pre-trial detentio n of up to four months, improper treatment of child detainees and abysma l conditions in pre-trial facilities. The report follows a scandal over US treatment of prisoners in the Amer ican-run Abu Ghraib prison, which erupted last year after the discovery of photographs showing prisoners being tortured and sexually abused. While the Human Rights Watch report looked solely at Iraqi institutions a nd did not address torture of prisoners by US soldiers, it said intern ational police advisors, mostly Americans, had turned a blind eye to Ira qi abuse. "The Iraqi security forces obviously face tremendous challenges, includin g an insurgency that has targeted civilians," Whitson said. But international la w is unambiguous on this point: no government can justify torture of det ainees in the name of security." Iraq's justice minister did not challenge the findings of the report, say ing it would be unrealistic to expect a flawless judicial system in a wa r-torn country like Iraq. The government's record will be tested in a general election Sunday. "A new Iraqi government requires more than a change of leadership," Whits on said. "It requires a change of attitude about basic human dignity."
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