LONDON/BAGHDAD, 17 May 2003 — The human rights organization Amnesty International yesterday accused British and US troops of torturing Iraqi prisoners of war during the recent conflict.
At a press conference in London, Amnesty delegate Saied Boumedouha said he knew of at least 20 cases of Iraqi soldiers and civilians who suffered torture in captivity. Amnesty said the 20 people were beaten for long periods, sometimes all night long, and one person received electric shocks.
Most cases took place near the southern Iraqi town of Basra and coalition forces reportedly suspected the victims of being members of the militia loyal to former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein.
Boumedouha said he interviewed the victims during a short visit to Iraq and Amnesty would submit a report containing witness testimony to the British and US governments at a later date.
The organization said it was still researching cases on the ground and did not want its work to be put in danger. Boumedouha defended the use of the term “torture” saying it described electric shocks, hours of beatings and broken teeth.
“As of Wednesday we had interviewed 20 people,” Boumedouha said. When asked, the researcher insisted that torture was the correct word to use for the handling of the prisoners, many of whom may have been suspected of being members of Iraqi militia. After returning from Amnesty’s first fact-finding mission in Iraq since 1993, Boumedouha said the alleged mistreatment included “beatings with fists, with feet, also with weapons.”
“In one case we are talking about electric shocks being used against a man and in others people are being beaten for the whole night and are still being kicked and their teeth broken, I think you would call that torture,” he said. The man claiming to have received electric shocks was believed to have been a Saudi who had entered the country from Syria during the war and was suspected of being a volunteer for Saddam Hussein.
Boumedouha acknowledged that Amnesty International had not presented any of the claims to British or US forces for any response. “We still have people on the ground in Iraq and we will continue to gain testimonies,” he said.
“Once that is complete we hope to provide a full dossier to present to the British and American authorities as well as publishing ourselves,” he said. Amnesty International estimated up to half of the 20 people he interviewed were civilians and the rest military. The researcher said all the people he interviewed were free at the time he met them and most had been detained in and around Basra.
Meanwhile, the United Nations voiced concern yesterday that the precarious security situation in Iraq was hampering efforts by the international community to remedy the country’s humanitarian situation.
Kenzo Oshima, UN undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs, relayed the UN’s concern personally to the coalition authority during a brief visit to Baghdad. “I raised this issue with Ambassador Bremer,” said Oshima after a meeting in Baghdad with Paul Bremer, who has replaced retired US Gen. Jay Garner as the top US civil administrator in Iraq.
Garner was blamed for doing little to restore law and order in the country, especially in Baghdad where looters and armed bandits appeared to have had a relatively free hand. “We are concerned about the security situation,” said Oshima.
Bremer has vowed to do everything possible to enhance personal and public security in Iraq. His arrival coincided with the handing down of new rules of engagement for coalition forces operating in the country.
These included the shooting on sight of looters who have been held responsible for much of the problems that followed the toppling of the regime of Saddam Hussein, including the pillaging of UN warehouses and offices.
Oshima stressed that there was “no immediate humanitarian crisis or disaster at hand”, but warned that in the absence of adequate security, the situation could “turn into a serious crisis”.
In one case, a water treatment plant repaired by the UN was destroyed by looters the next day, explained Ramiro Lopes da Silva, the UN humanitarian coordinator for Iraq.
The inability of officials to move around freely due to security concerns was also torpedoing efforts to assess the humanitarian needs of the people and deliver supplies to them, the UN noted. The UN currently has an international staff of 250 people.
