“We reject this allegation,” Dindar Zebari, head of the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) High Committee to Evaluate and Respond to International Reports, told reporters at a press conference on Thursday. “It's not definitely the whole picture of the Kurdistan Region.”
The Kurdish security force Asayesh carried out security screenings of internally displaced (IDPs) boys and men aged 15 years and older who flee to Kurdish-controlled territory.
According to the report by Belkis Wille from HRW, Kurdish security forces have held detainees for indefinite periods of time.
During the press conference, Wille claimed that every male she came across was detained for more than a couple of days. One person she mentioned was detained for 109 days.
HRW’s biggest concern, Wille said, is that while people are detained, there is no communication with their families, leaving their families with no information regarding their whereabouts throughout the duration of their detainment.
“If they are taken, their families don’t know where they are,” Wille said.
Lama Fakih, deputy Middle East director at HRW, was quoted in the report saying “by categorically detaining men and boys 15 and over fleeing ISIS-held territory as possible terrorism suspects, KRG authorities are ignoring basic due process guarantees under Iraqi and international law. No one should be detained unless there is reason to suspect them personally of criminal activity.”
Zebari noted that the screening process for IDPs is conducted jointly by the KRG and international coalition forces.
“It’s not only the KRG to be accused if there are certain shortages in terms of the services, I believe, even in legal assistance or technical assistance to IDPs. I believe that it is an international concern as well as KRG concern,” said Zebari.
“This is an ongoing process of legal assistance, not KRG’s full responsibility,” he added.
Zebari explained how the security screenings are conducted. “The screening has to be conducted in under 24 hours at the second arrival, which is the reception center. People have been arriving in the reception center where they have been kept no more than 24 hours.”
If there are concerns or allegations about individuals, they are transferred to facilities under control of the Asayesh in Erbil, “not the reception centers or detention facilities. This is something completely distorted by the Human Rights Watch,” Zebari detailed.
If there are no concerns about an individual or no allegations that have been found to be based in fact, then the person is released to rejoin family members.
According to Zebari, overcrowding in the screening reception areas and the camps is a major reason why people are kept longer at the reception centers under the Asayesh. “So it is a question of space, a question of time and the crowd of the individuals in that particular place.”
Some IDPs have been found to have been with ISIS or fought with ISIS against Peshmerga forces, Zebari said. There have been cases where IDPs have attempted to blow themselves up within the camps to kill other IDPs, he said, emphasizing the stress security personnel are working under.
Zebari expressed his government’s appreciation of the work HRW does and the history of cooperation between the two, which he expects will continue. He also voiced gratitude for the work of humanitarian organizations in the IDP camps.
