Amnesty International today accused the US-led occupying forces in Iraq of failing to uphold human rights in their treatment of Iraqi civilians.
The group is to present a memorandum detailing "allegations of ill-treatment by coalition forces and inhumane detention conditions" to Paul Bremer, the head of the US-led Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) in Iraq, today.
A team of eight Amnesty workers have been in Iraq for the last week collecting testimonies from alleged victims of human rights abuses committed under the CPA. The allegations include the shooting of a 12-year-old boy during house-to-house searches by US troops, and reports of Iraqis detained by coalition forces being subjected to torture.
In many cases, it is alleged that people have been snatched from the street without warning and denied access to relatives and lawyers while in jail - a "strong echo" of methods used by Saddam Hussein's regime, according to Amnesty.
Former detainees said Abu Ghraid prison in Baghdad - one of the most notorious jails under the old regime but now under CPA control - was overflowing with inmates. Many people were being held in tents in extreme heat and without sufficient drinking water, they told researchers.
The head of Amnesty 's delegation to Iraq, Mahmoud Ben Romdhane, said that after more than 100 days of occupation, the promises of human rights for all Iraqis have yet to be fulfilled.
"The Iraqi people have suffered for long enough. It is shameful to still hear of people who are being detained in inhumane conditions without their family knowing where they are, and with no access to a lawyer or a judge, often for weeks on end," he said.
Legal reforms introduced by the occupying powers mean that Iraqi courts have no jurisdiction over coalition personnel in relation to civil and criminal matters.
"Given the nature of the allegations emerging from the occupation of Iraq, the CPA must urgently clarify ... the disciplinary and criminal mechanisms to hold members of the CPA and coalition forces to account," Mr Romdhane said.
"The CPA must carry out competent, independent and impartial investigations into individual cases. Nothing less will suffice," he added.
Amnesty's report highlights the shooting of 12-year-old Mohammad al-Kubaisi by US soldiers while they carried out search operations on June 26.
"That evening, as usual, Mohammad was carrying the family bedding up to the roof when a soldier shot at him from the opposite house. Mohammad was still alive when neighbours tried to rush him by car to the nearby hospital, but they were stopped by soldiers in a tank on the way," the document says.
"The soldiers forced the neighbours to the ground, and after 15 minutes ordered them to return home because the curfew had started. Mohammad was already dead."
Other allegations include the death of Saadi al-Ubaydi on May 14, again after US troops raided his home.
"Several soldiers forced their way in and beat him with their rifle butts. He ran out of the house to get away from them. Soldiers shot him a few metres away and he died immediately," the report says, citing witnesses in Ramadi.
"Many of the coalition soldiers and military police engaged in law enforcement do not have basic skills and tools in civilian policing," Curt Goering, a member of the Amnesty team in Iraq, noted.
Nor are they aware of the law they are supposed to be applying, he added.
Amnesty also cites the case of Khreisan Khalis Aballey, 39, and his father, 80, who were arrested at their home on April 30.
"Khreisan was hooded and handcuffed and made to stand or kneel facing a wall for nearly eight days while he was being interrogated," the report alleges.
"He suffered from sleep deprivation as a bright light was placed next to his head and distorted music was playing. His knees bled so he mostly stood and by the end he said his leg was swollen to the size of a football. His father was held in the cell next to him and could hear his son's screams."
Amnesty spokesman Steve Ballinger told Guardian Unlimited that that the team had collected "scores" of testimonies in Baghdad and Basra in the last week, but these were just "tip of the iceberg" and there would be further delegations to visit other parts of Iraq and collect more evidence.
He said one of the main problems was a "two-tier" legal system. "If an Iraqi is dealt with in the Iraqi court system, they are given access to a magistrate who can review the case within 24 hours.
"If they are detained by coalition forces they might not see a magistrate for 90 days. When people suddenly disappear and their families don't know why or where they are being held, then that echoes strongly in people's minds with the disappearances that used to happen under Saddam's regime."
The home secretary Jack Straw said today: "Of course we take very seriously any such allegations by an organisation like Amnesty.
"I will study the allegations and the evidence behind them with very great care and if, as I suspect, I think it appropriate I shall also ensure they are discussed with the Americans." There was no immediate response from US authorities
The group is to present a memorandum detailing "allegations of ill-treatment by coalition forces and inhumane detention conditions" to Paul Bremer, the head of the US-led Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) in Iraq, today.
A team of eight Amnesty workers have been in Iraq for the last week collecting testimonies from alleged victims of human rights abuses committed under the CPA. The allegations include the shooting of a 12-year-old boy during house-to-house searches by US troops, and reports of Iraqis detained by coalition forces being subjected to torture.
In many cases, it is alleged that people have been snatched from the street without warning and denied access to relatives and lawyers while in jail - a "strong echo" of methods used by Saddam Hussein's regime, according to Amnesty.
Former detainees said Abu Ghraid prison in Baghdad - one of the most notorious jails under the old regime but now under CPA control - was overflowing with inmates. Many people were being held in tents in extreme heat and without sufficient drinking water, they told researchers.
The head of Amnesty 's delegation to Iraq, Mahmoud Ben Romdhane, said that after more than 100 days of occupation, the promises of human rights for all Iraqis have yet to be fulfilled.
"The Iraqi people have suffered for long enough. It is shameful to still hear of people who are being detained in inhumane conditions without their family knowing where they are, and with no access to a lawyer or a judge, often for weeks on end," he said.
Legal reforms introduced by the occupying powers mean that Iraqi courts have no jurisdiction over coalition personnel in relation to civil and criminal matters.
"Given the nature of the allegations emerging from the occupation of Iraq, the CPA must urgently clarify ... the disciplinary and criminal mechanisms to hold members of the CPA and coalition forces to account," Mr Romdhane said.
"The CPA must carry out competent, independent and impartial investigations into individual cases. Nothing less will suffice," he added.
Amnesty's report highlights the shooting of 12-year-old Mohammad al-Kubaisi by US soldiers while they carried out search operations on June 26.
"That evening, as usual, Mohammad was carrying the family bedding up to the roof when a soldier shot at him from the opposite house. Mohammad was still alive when neighbours tried to rush him by car to the nearby hospital, but they were stopped by soldiers in a tank on the way," the document says.
"The soldiers forced the neighbours to the ground, and after 15 minutes ordered them to return home because the curfew had started. Mohammad was already dead."
Other allegations include the death of Saadi al-Ubaydi on May 14, again after US troops raided his home.
"Several soldiers forced their way in and beat him with their rifle butts. He ran out of the house to get away from them. Soldiers shot him a few metres away and he died immediately," the report says, citing witnesses in Ramadi.
"Many of the coalition soldiers and military police engaged in law enforcement do not have basic skills and tools in civilian policing," Curt Goering, a member of the Amnesty team in Iraq, noted.
Nor are they aware of the law they are supposed to be applying, he added.
Amnesty also cites the case of Khreisan Khalis Aballey, 39, and his father, 80, who were arrested at their home on April 30.
"Khreisan was hooded and handcuffed and made to stand or kneel facing a wall for nearly eight days while he was being interrogated," the report alleges.
"He suffered from sleep deprivation as a bright light was placed next to his head and distorted music was playing. His knees bled so he mostly stood and by the end he said his leg was swollen to the size of a football. His father was held in the cell next to him and could hear his son's screams."
Amnesty spokesman Steve Ballinger told Guardian Unlimited that that the team had collected "scores" of testimonies in Baghdad and Basra in the last week, but these were just "tip of the iceberg" and there would be further delegations to visit other parts of Iraq and collect more evidence.
He said one of the main problems was a "two-tier" legal system. "If an Iraqi is dealt with in the Iraqi court system, they are given access to a magistrate who can review the case within 24 hours.
"If they are detained by coalition forces they might not see a magistrate for 90 days. When people suddenly disappear and their families don't know why or where they are being held, then that echoes strongly in people's minds with the disappearances that used to happen under Saddam's regime."
The home secretary Jack Straw said today: "Of course we take very seriously any such allegations by an organisation like Amnesty.
"I will study the allegations and the evidence behind them with very great care and if, as I suspect, I think it appropriate I shall also ensure they are discussed with the Americans." There was no immediate response from US authorities
