Human rights violations documented in Nineveh prisons
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – The Iraqi High Commission for Human Rights (IHCHR) documented human rights violations in prisons in Nineveh province.
“We detected a lot of violations and issues during our visit to the intelligence directorate and anti-terror [forces] in Nineveh and detention centers belong to it,” Ali Mirz al-Shammary, deputy head of the commission, said in a statement published on Tuesday.
Shammary led a visit to Nineveh with the commission’s forensic team. They met with employees of the directorate of intelligence and heard of the difficulties detectives in the directorate face in the cases they receive.
“We have diagnosed multiple issues during our visit,” stated Shammary.
Inmates have lost their “human dignity” in overcrowded detention halls where illnesses like scabies, tuberculosis, and viral hepatitis are serious concerns, he detailed.
Within the directorate, Shammary also identified problems of staffing shortages and lack of funds that hinder criminal investigations.
He called on the relevant ministries and departments – the high judicial council, public prosecutor, and ministries of the interior, justice, health, and labour and social affairs – to urgently “shoulder their duties.”
Necessary steps must be undertaken to end the “plight” of the detained, he said. Cases must be concluded within legal timelines, and employees and detectives must be given the resources to speed up their investigations in order to ensure cases are handled in a timely manner.
Iraq’s prisons are frequently criticized for overcrowding and poor conditions.
“Overcrowding has strained already poorly maintained or out-dated infrastructure, including water, sewerage, ventilation, and other services,” the UN stated in a report published in July.
“Inmates in government-run detention and prison facilities sometimes lacked adequate food and water. Access to medical care was inconsistent,” the US Department of State detailed in their annual human rights report on Iraq.
The country’s judicial system has come under the spotlight as it prosecutes alleged ISIS members. Monitors say the trials have been rushed and unfair, and have decried the use of the death penalty.
The majority of Nineveh province, with its capital Mosul, was under ISIS rule for about three years. Mosul was devastated in the offensive to liberate the city.
Several human rights groups have documented disappearances and human rights violations in Mosul since it was liberated from ISIS in July 2017.
“We detected a lot of violations and issues during our visit to the intelligence directorate and anti-terror [forces] in Nineveh and detention centers belong to it,” Ali Mirz al-Shammary, deputy head of the commission, said in a statement published on Tuesday.
Shammary led a visit to Nineveh with the commission’s forensic team. They met with employees of the directorate of intelligence and heard of the difficulties detectives in the directorate face in the cases they receive.
“We have diagnosed multiple issues during our visit,” stated Shammary.
Inmates have lost their “human dignity” in overcrowded detention halls where illnesses like scabies, tuberculosis, and viral hepatitis are serious concerns, he detailed.
Within the directorate, Shammary also identified problems of staffing shortages and lack of funds that hinder criminal investigations.
He called on the relevant ministries and departments – the high judicial council, public prosecutor, and ministries of the interior, justice, health, and labour and social affairs – to urgently “shoulder their duties.”
Necessary steps must be undertaken to end the “plight” of the detained, he said. Cases must be concluded within legal timelines, and employees and detectives must be given the resources to speed up their investigations in order to ensure cases are handled in a timely manner.
Iraq’s prisons are frequently criticized for overcrowding and poor conditions.
“Overcrowding has strained already poorly maintained or out-dated infrastructure, including water, sewerage, ventilation, and other services,” the UN stated in a report published in July.
“Inmates in government-run detention and prison facilities sometimes lacked adequate food and water. Access to medical care was inconsistent,” the US Department of State detailed in their annual human rights report on Iraq.
The country’s judicial system has come under the spotlight as it prosecutes alleged ISIS members. Monitors say the trials have been rushed and unfair, and have decried the use of the death penalty.
The majority of Nineveh province, with its capital Mosul, was under ISIS rule for about three years. Mosul was devastated in the offensive to liberate the city.
Several human rights groups have documented disappearances and human rights violations in Mosul since it was liberated from ISIS in July 2017.