UNHCR's ELIGIBILITY GUIDELINES FOR ASSESSING THE ...
UNHCR's ELIGIBILITY GUIDELINES FOR ASSESSING THE ...
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dominated Special Police Commando units, which since May 2006 have been consolidated<br />
into the Iraqi National Police. 119 Consistent reports have indicated the involvement of the<br />
ISF in kidnappings, torture and summary executions of Sunnis. 120 In November 2005, a<br />
joint MNF/ISF raid on the Ministry of Interior’s Al-Jadiriyya Facility in Baghdad<br />
discovered some 170 weakened and malnourished detainees, mostly Sunni Arabs, many<br />
bearing injuries consistent with torture. At least 18 others allegedly had died in custody and<br />
the fate of others remained unknown. The Government of Iraq initiated an investigation<br />
into the incident, but to date has failed to publish its findings or to initiate criminal<br />
proceedings against those involved in the abuse. 121 Between December 2005 and May<br />
2006, joint MNF/ISF teams inspected at least eight facilities run by the Ministry of Interior<br />
and the Ministry of Defence in and around Baghdad. The inspectors found consistent<br />
evidence of detainee abuse at most locations, including the Ministry of Interior’s Site 4<br />
Facility. According to UNAMI HRO, the inspection at Site 4 had revealed “systematic<br />
evidence of physical and psychological abuse.” UNAMI HRO in December 2006 reported<br />
that while an investigation revealed that 57 employees, including high-ranking officers, of<br />
the Ministry of Interior were involved in degrading treatment of prisoners at Site 4, nobody<br />
has yet been held accountable. It further reported that it continues to receive information<br />
pointing to torture and other cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment in detention centres<br />
administered by the Ministry of Interior or security forces throughout Iraq. 122<br />
Apart from the forces of the Ministry of Interior, forces of the Ministry of Defence have<br />
also reportedly been infiltrated by Shi’ite militiamen. For example, the Iraqi Army’s Fifth<br />
the Iraqi Police and Military were infiltrated by militias. Former Minister of Interior, Bayan Jabr, said that the<br />
FPS was “out of control”. The Iraqi Government has plans to consolidate the various FPS units and bring<br />
them under control of the Ministry of Interior; however, the Iraq Study Group questions whether the Ministry<br />
of Interior had the capability to do so; see: Iraq Study Group Report, p. 14, see above footnote 35. See also:<br />
Perito, see above footnote 109; Walter Pincus, U.S. Military Urging Iraq to Rein In Guard Force, The<br />
Washington Post, 25 December 2006, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/<br />
2006/12/24/AR2006122400551.html; Inter Press Service (IPS), Dahr Jamail, Ali al-Fadhily, Iraqi Militias<br />
Take Refuge in Facilities Protection Service, 8 November 2006, http://www.antiwar.com/jamail/<br />
?articleid=9979; Filkins, see above footnote 103; Ellen Knickmeyer, Iraq Begins to Rein In Paramilitary<br />
Force, The Washington Post, 14 May 2006, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/<br />
2006/05/13/AR2006051300843.html; Scott Johnson, Phantom Force, Newsweek, 24 April 2006,<br />
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12335716/site/newsweek/.<br />
119 See, for example, Pincus, ibidem; HRW, Iraq: End Interior Ministry Death Squads, 29 October 2006,<br />
http://hrw.org/english/docs/2006/10/29/iraq14473.htm; BBC News, Guide: Armed groups in Iraq, 15 August<br />
2006, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4268904.stm#badr; Filkins, see above footnote 103; RFE/RL,<br />
Charles Recknagel, Iraq: Sectarian Violence Highlights Increasing Power Of Militias, 22 March 2006,<br />
http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2006/03/3f8ef645-5fec-497d-8502-99a72fc4c9d8.html. See also:<br />
Christopher Allbritton, Why Iraq’s Police Are a Menace, Time Magazine, 20 March 2006,<br />
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1175055,00.html.<br />
120 Perito, see above footnote 109; CBS / The Associated Press, Sectarian Rhetoric Flies In Baghdad,<br />
5 January 2007, http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/01/05/iraq/main2332897.shtml. See also: UNHCR,<br />
2005 Country of Origin Information Iraq, p. 144 and 146-148, see above footnote 53.<br />
121 Edward Wong and John F. Burns, Secret prison adds to divisions in Iraq, The New York Times,<br />
22 November 2005, http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/11/16/news/torture.php; Ellen Knickmeyer and K.I.<br />
Ibrahim, U.S. to Probe All Iraqi-Run Prisons, The Washington Post, 18 November 2005,<br />
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/17/AR2005111700649.html.<br />
122 UNAMI HRO, December 2006 Human Rights Report, p. 19, see above footnote 10. See also: HRW,<br />
World Report 2007, Iraq, January 2007, http://hrw.org/englishwr2k7/docs/2007/01/11/iraq14705.htm.<br />
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