news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060921/ap_on_re_mi_ea/un_iraq_torture
Saddam Hussein, with militias, terrorist groups and government forces disregarding rules on the humane treatment of prisoners, the UN anti-torture chief said Thursday.
Manfred Nowak, the UN special investigator on torture, made the remarks as he was presenting a report on detainee conditions at the US prison in Guantanamo Bay as well as to brief the UN Human Rights Council, the global body's top rights watchdog, on torture worldwide. Reports from Iraq indicate that torture "is totally out of hand," he said. "The situation is so bad many people say it is worse than it has been in the times of Saddam Hussein." Nowak added, "That means something, because the torture methods applied under Saddam Hussein were the worst you could imagine." Some allegations of torture were undoubtedly credible, with government forces among the perpetrators, he said, citing "very serious allegations of torture within the official Iraqi detention centers." "You have terrorist groups, you have the military, you have police, you have these militias. There are so many people who are actually abducted, seriously tortured and finally killed," Nowak told reporters at the UN's European headquarters. There are much more brutal methods of torture you'll find by private militias," he said. A report by the UN Assistance Mission in Iraq's Human Rights office cited worrying evidence of torture, unlawful detentions, growth of sectarian militias and death squads, and a rise in "honor killings" of women. Iraq's government, set up in 2006, is "currently facing a generalized breakdown of law and order which presents a serious challenge to the institutions of Iraq" such as police and security forces and the legal system, the UN report said, noting that torture was a major concern. Nowak has yet to make an official visit to Iraq and said such a mission would be unfeasible as long as the security situation there remains perilous. He based his comments on interviews with people during a visit to Amman, Jordan, and other sources. "You find these bodies with very heavy and very serious torture marks," he said. "Many of these allegations, I have no doubt that they are credible." According to the UN report, the number of Iraqi civilians killed in July and August hit 6,599, a record-high that is far greater than initial estimates suggested, the UN report said Wednesday. It attributed many of the deaths to rising sectarian tensions that have pushed Iraq toward civil war.
Relatives grieve during a funeral in Kirkuk, about 155 miles north of Baghdad, February 12, 2006. The man was kidnapped a day earlier and his bullet-riddled body was found later with torture marks, relatives said. Manfred Nowak, the UN special rapporteur on torture and cruelty, said he had credible reports of torture in facilities run by Iraqi forces, as well as by the militias and insurgents who have kidnapped and killed hundreds of people since Saddam's overthrow in 2003.
The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
|
http://csua.com/feed/