Torture in Kurdish Iraq

This satirical video from the USA shows “Patriots for Corporate Rights” (corporaterights.org) celebrate America by standing up against moonbats who dare to dissent and protest torture and the war.

Another video from the USA: it’s time to Bring ‘Em on Home and hold the liars in office accountable.

IPS reports:

Torture Routine in Kurdish Jails, Report Charges

By Khody Akhavi

WASHINGTON, Jul 2 – Kurdistan‘s security forces, attached to the two largest political parties in the region yet out of the control of the government’s Interior Ministry, routinely torture detainees and deny their due process rights, according to a report released by Human Rights Watch Tuesday.

The 58-page report, “Caught in the Whirlwind: Torture and Denial of Due Process by the Kurdistan Security Forces,” documents systematic mistreatment of detainees held by Kurdish security forces, known as Asayish (literally “security”).

While detainees’ have experienced torture at the hands of Asayish, many of the abuses reported in region pale in comparison to the violence, terrorism and criminality currently engulfing much of Iraq.

In Iraq they see this mess and disaster, and Kurdistan appears secure and stable,” said Ayub Nuri of Human Rights Watch. “The violence in the rest of Iraq has overshadowed the abuses in Kurdistan.”

Most detainees are not charged with offenses, given information regarding their legal status, or provided with a mechanism to appeal their detentions. The Asayish have held hundreds of detainees, particularly those arrested on suspicion of terrorism-related offenses, without due process, for more than five years in some cases.

Many detainees also complained that the authorities denied them access to relatives, and that in some cases their relatives were unaware of where they were being held, according to the report.

Torture methods most frequently cited in the report include beatings to the body using implements such as cables, wooden sticks, metal rods, and hosepipes. Detainees also described how Asayish guards placed them in “stress positions” for extended periods, kept them blindfolded and handcuffed for several days at a time, and placed them in solitary confinement. With some exceptions, the report also found that conditions at Asayish facilities remained severely overcrowded and unhygienic.

The Asayish forces are connected to the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), and remain outside the control of the Kurdish regional authority. The two parties formally unified in July 2006, but still maintain separate detention facilities.