Iraq
The unnamed detainee’s left arm had to be amputated following several unsuccessful surgeries, Human Rights Watch said Tuesday. Photo: Human Rights Watch
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Allegations of torture and maltreatment in Iraq’s prisons were highlighted on Tuesday when a human rights monitor reported the case of an Iraqi man whose arm had to be amputated after he was “hung from his hands for three days” during his interrogation.
New York-based monitor Human Rights Watch (HRW) said the case points to a worrying level of maltreatment in Iraqi prisons.
The detainee, who was arrested on suspicion of car theft in March 2018, told his brother during a prison visitation that he had been “hung from his hands for three days” as an interrogator tried to extract a confession from him.
HRW obtained a copy of the man’s forensic medical exam in May 2018, which noted bruising and swelling that ran from the detainee’s left hand up to his shoulder.
HRW had recommended he be referred to a bone and fracture specialist.
However, the detainee did not receive medical attention until July 2018, when he was transferred to Yarmouk Hospital in Baghdad. There, his brother overheard a doctor telling the accompanying officer the man had been tortured. The officer allegedly denied it.
Doctors performed three surgeries on the detainee’s arm over a 10-month period, but failed to repair the arterial damage.
According to his brother, officers brought the detainee to Ghazi al-Hariri Hospital in Baghdad, where doctors amputated the arm. He was then returned to police custody.
“A detainee who loses his arm because of torture in custody is one more sign that something is very wrong in Iraqi detention facilities,” said Lama Fakih, deputy Middle East director at HRW, in a statement.
“The government should take detainees’ rights seriously and start to protect them by investigating abuses.”
“Iraq’s judiciary, law enforcement, and prison authorities owe all Iraqis a commitment to investigate each and every credible allegation of cruel treatment,” Fakih added.
The watchdog released a report in April raising the alarm about “credible” allegations of torture taking place at three facilities in Mosul under the control of Iraq’s Ministry of Interior.
Another report in January claimed children in the Kurdistan Region were being detained and tortured through beatings and electric shocks. The report also claimed the minors were denied access to relatives and legal representation and were coerced into confessing affiliation with the Islamic State (ISIS).
The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) denied the Asayish had detained or tortured children with suspected ties to ISIS, claiming the children are given access to lawyers and family members, and there have been no medical records of torture.
Iraq has rounded up thousands for suspected ISIS affiliation and often carries out mass trials.
In addition to locals, Iraq has also tried hundreds of foreigners, condemning many to life in prison and others to death, although no foreign ISIS members have been executed to date.
HRW and other rights groups have criticized the trials, saying they often rely on confessions obtained through torture or on circumstantial evidence.
With countries reluctant to repatriate their nationals who joined ISIS, Baghdad has offered to bring the remaining foreign suspects still held by Kurdish forces in Syria to trial, asking foreign countries of origin to pay $2 million per person tried.
Comments
Rudaw moderates all comments submitted on our website. We welcome comments which are relevant to the article and encourage further discussion about the issues that matter to you. We also welcome constructive criticism about Rudaw.
To be approved for publication, however, your comments must meet our community guidelines.
We will not tolerate the following: profanity, threats, personal attacks, vulgarity, abuse (such as sexism, racism, homophobia or xenophobia), or commercial or personal promotion.
Comments that do not meet our guidelines will be rejected. Comments are not edited – they are either approved or rejected.
Post a comment