Rights groups welcome release of detainees

Human right groups welcomed the release of up to 80 detainees from a jail near the Iraqi capital, Baghdad on Friday but added that many had been detained due to wrong information. "There are other aspects that need to be looked at, such as the international law (legislation) that the Coalition authorities have to follow during the time of the occupation," Rani Mufti from Human Rights Watch (HRW) told IRIN in Baghdad. "You cannot have someone detained for more than 24 hours without any sort of investigation. Another thing is the condition the detainees live in have to be improved, and they have to be allowed to be visited by their relatives," she added. The inmates were released after the announcement of an amnesty by the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) last week. However, it was not clear whether this group was part of the amnesty. “Even though there’s no list of who will be released, I hope my brother is one of them,” Mohamed Hamid, 32, who said his brother was accused of being a Baath Party member, told IRIN outside the Abu Ghraib prison, some 30 km west of the capital, Baghdad only to be disappointed. “We’ve been waiting all day,” he added. Paola Gasparoli, from Occupation Watch, an international NGO based in Baghdad, told IRIN that they also welcomed the release of the prisoners but said that hundreds of claims had been filed against the military for wrongful death, injuries and property destruction especially during detention and those people have to be compensated. "Some of these claims have been handled by lawyers from the National Association of the Defence of Human Rights in Iraq and Occupation Watch," she said. She added that the Iraqi lawyers they worked with had filed 120 cases for compensation with the military, none of which had been resolved. Occupation Watch had filed 20 and logged more than 80 cases none had received compensation. As crowds gathered outside the prison, they became increasingly anxious waiting for news of their loved ones. “There’s no guarantee he’ll be released today, but US troops promised previously that my father would be let go,” Mohammed Motar Halaf, told IRIN. Halaf explained that his father was taken into custody from a coalition checkpoint after he was found with three million Iraqi dinar in his coat (about US $20,000). According to Halaf, his father said “I have nothing” in Arabic, or “bosch,” which he said coalition forces thought was an insult against US President George Bush. A US soldier guarding the gate at Abu Graib said anyone can say anything they like about the US president without worries from US troops. The soldier declined to give his name. “The majority of the detainees are innocent. A nation like the United States should not use its power against us like this,” a relative waiting outside the prison, Turkiye Nahi al-Jabouri, told IRIN. “This will never lead us all to a peaceful resolution.” Lt. Antoine Brooks, a gatekeeper, said he was told 100 prisoners per day would be released for the next 10 days or so. However, Coalition spokesman Dan Senor later said in a press conference that about 500 people had been identified for possible release. Iraq's CPA Administrator Paul Bremer, announced on 7 January in Baghdad that a provisional release programme for detainees would begin soon. He said the programme was intended to provide a second chance to some who made the mistake of opting "against the new Iraq," and who were willing "to reconcile with their countrymen." He cited two essential requirements that must be met for any detainee to qualify for the release programme. The first was that the person must formally renounce violence and must have a personal guarantor to vouch for his good conduct, he said. "This is not a programme for those with blood stained hands," Bremer asserted. "No person involved in the death of or serious bodily harm to any human being, an Iraqi, a citizen of the Coalition or anyone else will be released. Nor will we release anyone accused of torture or crimes against humanity," he added. Bremer said the programme would permit hundreds of Iraqi detainees to return to their homes and families, supposedly beginning with the release of 100 detainees on 8 January, however, coalition officials could not confirm whether the 80 or so released were part of this amnesty. In his speech Bremer added that the coalition was also exploring ways to allow greater access for families of detainees not released. Hundreds more detainees could be freed in this way in the coming weeks, the CPA said.