U.S. holds bulging prisoner population in Iraq (nearly 15k)

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N286539.htm

U.S. holds bulging prisoner population in Iraq


WASHINGTON, Dec 28 (Reuters) - U.S. forces are working to complete a major expansion of detention facilities in Iraq as a growing prisoner population nears 15,000, the military said on Wednesday, amid questions about when Iraq's government will be capable of taking control.

The U.S. military, in the process of training hundreds of Iraqis to work as security guards, said it had no timetable for turning over detention operations to the Iraqi government. The prisoner population, consisting of suspected insurgents, has more than doubled since autumn 2004.

"Iraqi forces must meet all standards of care and custody in full accordance with international law and respecting the human rights of all individuals being detained," said Lt. Col. Barry Johnson, a senior military spokesman in Baghdad.

Recent incidents have generated concern about Iraqi-run detention operations. During a raid at a Baghdad bunker, U.S. forces last month found 173 men and teenage boys held by Iraq's Interior Ministry, many malnourished, beaten and showing signs of torture.