Iraq Fails to Deliver on Torture Probe

Iraq Fails to Deliver on Torture Probe


Wednesday November 30, 2005 12:31 PM

By SAMEER N. YACOUB

Associated Press Writer

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - Iraqi government officials failed Wednesday to
deliver the promised results of an investigation into alleged torture
at an Interior Ministry jail in Baghdad.

U.S. and Iraqi forces discovered 173 malnourished Iraqi detainees when
they went into the facility on Nov. 13. Some inmates showed signs of
torture, U.S. and Iraqi officials said. A U.S. general was so
concerned with what he found that he took immediate control of the
jail but the military has released few details about it since.

Deputy Interior Minister Hussein Kamal said the investigation led by
Kurdish Deputy Prime Minister Rowsch Nouri Shaways was still under
way. An official in Shaways' office said the ministerial committee
needed more time to finish its work.

On Nov. 15, Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari ordered the
investigation and promised the results within two weeks. The U.S.
Embassy touted the probe as proof that the Iraqi government was
taking action and there was no need for an independent, international
inquiry, which many in the Sunni Muslim minority have demanded.

http://www.channelcincinnati.com/news/5434853/detail.html

Iraq Misses Deadline For Torture Report

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Backing off on a report due out on Wednesday, Iraq's government says a committee looking into torture allegations hasn't finished its work and needs more time.

The panel, headed by a deputy prime minister, is looking into conditions at an Interior Ministry jail. U.S. troops found some of the inmates there showed signs of having been tortured.

An American general immediately took control of the facility and the Iraqi government ordered an investigation, promising to release findings within two weeks. That period is up on Wednesday.

Citing the Iraqi investigation, U.S. officials had said there was no need for an outside probe, as demanded by Iraq's Sunni minority. The Sunnis have charged that hostile Shiite militias have been rolled into the Iraqi security force and are targeting Sunnis.