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03.03.30
From Human Rights Watch 03.03.29 A few reasons to be there. 1996: "In March, the un Commission on Human Rights adopted a resolution condemning "the massive and extremely grave violations of human rights for which the Government of Iraq is fully responsible" and extended for a further year the mandate of the un Special Rapporteur on Iraq. A resolution adopted by the un Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities in August welcomed, as in previous years, the Special Rapporteur's proposal for the setting up of a human rights monitoring operation for Iraq, but such an operation had not been set up by the end of the year." "Amnesty
International continued to raise serious human rights violations
with the government, including the detention of prisoners of conscience;
arbitrary arrests and incommunicado detention of political suspects
and their relatives; unfair and secret trials; the widespread torture
and ill-treatment of prisoners and detainees; "disappearances";
and executions. In April, the organization published a report, Iraq:
State cruelty _ branding, amputation and the death penalty, documenting
cases of ear amputation, hand amputation and branding of the forehead.
It also raised concern at the widening of the scope of the death
penalty to cover at least 18 new offences. Amnesty International
urged the government to officially abolish the penalties of amputation
and branding. It also called on the government to provide compensation
for victims or for families of victims of human rights violations,
to commute all outstanding death sentences and to ratify the un
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading
Treatment or Punishment. In August, the authorities responded by
noting that rcc Decree No. 81 ended the practice of ear amputation
and branding for army desertion. However, no copy of the decree
was made available." 1997: "Hundreds of suspected government opponents, including possible prisoners of conscience, were reportedly detained without charge or trial and tens of thousands of others arrested in previous years continued to be held. Hundreds of executions were reported during the year, some of which may have been extrajudicial executions. Death sentences continued to be imposed. Torture and ill-treatment continued to be widespread. The fate of thousands of people who “disappeared” in previous years remained unknown. Human rights abuses by Kurdish political groups, including “disappearances”, arbitrary arrests and extrajudicial executions, were reported in areas of Iraqi Kurdistan under Kurdish control." "During the year, Amnesty International appealed to the Iraqi Government to halt human rights violations, including the detention of prisoners of conscience, arbitrary arrests and incommunicado detention of political suspects, unfair trials, “disappearances” and executions. The organization also asked the authorities to conduct a full investigation into the execution by government forces of suspected members of opposition groups arrested in Arbil in August 1996" "In
October Amnesty International published a report, Iraq: “Disappearances”
_ unresolved cases since the early 1980s, in which it appealed to
the government to put an end to “disappearances” and to
clarify the fate of hundreds of thousands of people who had “disappeared”
since the early 1980s." 1998: "Suspected political opponents, including possible prisoners of conscience, continued to be arrested and tens of thousands of others arrested in previous years remained held. Scores of Kurdish families were forcibly expelled from their homes and members of targeted families detained. Torture and ill-treatment of prisoners and detainees were widely reported. According to reports, at least six people had their hands amputated as punishment. There was no further news on the fate of thousands of people who “disappeared” in previous years. Hundreds of people, including political prisoners, were reportedly executed; some may have been extrajudicially executed. Death sentences continued to be imposed, including for non-violent offences. Human rights abuses were reported in areas under Kurdish control." "In April the UN Commission on Human Rights condemned the “systematic, widespread and extremely grave violations of human rights and of international humanitarian law by the government of Iraq”, and extended for a further year the mandate of the un Special Rapporteur on Iraq. " "In
August, six members of a group known as Fida'yi Saddam (Saddam's
Fighters) reportedly had their hands amputated by order of 'Uday
Saddam Hussain, the President's eldest son. They were reportedly
accused of theft and extortion from travellers in the southern city
of Basra." 1999: "Violent clashes between the security forces and armed Islamist activists in the predominantly Shi'a south were frequently reported, especially following the killing in suspicious circumstances on 19 February of Ayatollah Sadeq al-Sadr, a prominent Shi'a cleric. Dozens of people from both sides were killed. Hundreds of people, including political prisoners and possible prisoners of conscience, were executed and large-scale arbitrary arrests of suspected political opponents took place. Torture and ill-treatment of prisoners and detainees were widely reported. Hundreds of non-Arab families, mostly Kurds, were forcibly expelled from their homes in the Kirkuk area to Iraqi Kurdistan." "At least 100 people were executed in Abu Ghraib Prison on 12 October 1999. They included 19 political detainees, among them the writer Hamid al-Mukhtar. He had been held for several months after the assassination of Ayatollah al-Sadr in February. He reportedly decided to organize a religious ceremony in his house to commemorate Ayatollah al-Sadr's death. The security forces stormed his house and arrested him and his son. The son was reportedly tortured and released. Hamid al-Mukhtar was executed." "Torture
and ill-treatment were used systematically against detainees in
prisons and detention centres despite its prohibition under the
Iraqi Constitution. Political detainees were subjected to severe
torture. The most common methods of physical and psychological torture
included electric shocks to various parts of the body, pulling out
of fingernails, long periods of suspension by the limbs, beating
with cables, falaqa (beating on the soles of the feet), cigarette
burns, piercing of hands with an electric drill, mock executions
and threats of bringing in a female relative of the detainee, especially
the wife or the mother, and raping her in front of the detainee." 2000: "Hundreds of people, among them political prisoners including possible prisoners of conscience, were executed. Hundreds of suspected political opponents, including army officers suspected of planning to overthrow the government, were arrested and their fate and whereabouts remained unknown. Torture and ill-treatment were widespread and new punishments, including beheading and the amputation of the tongue, were reportedly introduced. Non-Arabs, mostly Kurds, continued to be forcibly expelled from their homes in the Kirkuk area to Iraqi Kurdistan." "In October dozens of women accused of prostitution were beheaded without any judicial process in Baghdad and other cities. Men suspected of procurement were also beheaded. The killings were reportedly carried out in the presence of representatives of the Ba'ath Party and the Iraqi Women's General Union. Members of Feda'iyye Saddam, a militia created in 1994 by 'Uday Saddam Hussain, used swords to execute the victims in front of their homes. Some victims were reportedly killed for political reasons." "In
June Najib al-Salihi, a former army general who fled Iraq in 1995
and joined the Iraqi opposition, was sent a videotape showing the
rape of a female relative. Shortly afterwards he reportedly received
a telephone call from the Iraqi intelligence service, asking him
whether he had received the gift and informing him that his relative
was in their custody." 2001: "Scores of people, including possible prisoners of conscience and armed forces officers suspected of planning to overthrow the government, were executed. Scores of suspected anti-government opponents, including people suspected of having contacts with opposition groups in exile, were arrested. The fate and whereabouts of most of those arrested, including those detained in previous years, remained unknown. Several people were given lengthy prison terms after grossly unfair trials before special courts. Torture and ill-treatment of political prisoners and detainees were systematic. The two Kurdish political parties controlling Iraqi Kurdistan detained prisoners of conscience, and armed political groups were reportedly responsible for abductions and killings." "Political prisoners and detainees were subjected to systematic torture. The bodies of many of those executed had evident signs of torture. Common methods of physical torture included electric shocks or cigarette burns to various parts of the body, pulling out of fingernails, rape, long periods of suspension by the limbs from either a rotating fan in the ceiling or from a horizontal pole, beating with cables, hosepipe or metal rods, and falaqa (beating on the soles of the feet). In addition, detainees were threatened with rape and subjected to mock execution. They were placed in cells where they could hear the screams of others being tortured and were deliberately deprived of sleep." "In March 'Abd al-Wahad al-Rifa'i, a 58-year-old retired teacher, was executed by hanging after he had been held in prison without charge or trial for more than two years. He was suspected of having links with the opposition through his brother who lived abroad. His family in Baghdad collected his body from the Baghdad Security Headquarters. The body reportedly bore clear marks of torture, with the toenails pulled out and the right eye swollen." "In
July, two men, Zaher al-Zuhairi and Fares Kadhem 'Akla, reportedly
had their tongues cut out for slandering the President, by members
of Feda'iyye Saddam, a militia created in 1994 by 'Uday Saddam Hussein,
the President's eldest son. The amputations took place in a public
square in Diwaniya City, south of Baghdad." 03.03.17 on to war. I guess. The people must rise up! 03.03.12 OTPOR! |
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