Detainees Tortured In Secret Iraq Jail

Friday, 30 April 2010, 1:58 pm
Press Release: Human Rights Watch

Detainees Tortured In Secret Iraq Jail Officials Involved at All Levels Should Face Trial

Iraqi authorities systematically and routinely tortured detainees at a secret prison in Baghdad. Detainees were hung upside down, nearly suffocated with dirty bags, beaten with belts and other implements until they passed out, and then revived with electrical shocks. Security officials pulled out fingernails and broke teeth.

The 42 prisoners, interviewed Monday by Human Rights Watch, also gave accounts of sodomy and rape. The physical evidence – the welts and scars on their bodies -- appeared fresh.

The detainees, accused of aiding and abetting terrorism but not charged with any crimes, were Sunni Arabs from the Mosul area. The prison, in the old Muthanna airport in West Baghdad, was under the control of the Shi’ite-led Iraqi government. The responsibility doesn’t just lie with the torturers, but up the chain of command.

Read the stories of the abused »

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