Iraq

24

HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS

2. Iraq

The right to freedom, fair trial and treatment •

GENERAL, POLITICAL AND LEGAL OVERVIEW The past year in Iraq has failed to witness change; the same series of human rights violations that have persisted for years continue to plague the country. The security situation has deteriorated even further with government security forces and government-backed militias committing extrajudicial killings, torture leading to death and arbitrary bombings which have displaced tens of thousands of Iraqis. Racial, sectarian and ethnic cleansing has spread to more parts of the country. Iranianbacked Shiite militias have played a major role in destabilising the country, as has the appointment of militia leaders in key government positions.

Thousands of Sunni Iraqis, who were arbitrarily arrested during peaceful demonstrations opposing the government marginalisation of Sunni Iraqis in 2012 and 2013, remain languished in prison. Killings, forced displacements and violence increased significantly when the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) gained control of many Iraqi cities.

Arbitrary arrests, torture and inhumane treatment

Prisons in Iraq are overflowing with detainees who were arrested on the basis of information from secret informants, placing people’s lives at the mercy of such informants. Some detainees have been in prison for years without the prospect of trial. Human rights organisations have sounded the alarm regarding the torture and inhumane treatment at Iraqi prisons.

Many prisoners have been killed under torture as authorities attempted to extract false confessions from them.

The new Iraqi Prime Minister, Haidar al-Abbadi, embarked on a far-reaching campaign to tackle corruption in the military and security forces. A number of officials and judges were replaced in what seemed like an attempt to turn over a new leaf in the history of Iraq.

But these steps fail to come close to addressing people’s grievances. Many Iraqis remain detained on sectarian grounds, following the demonstrations that were organised by Sunni tribes to demand the end of the government policy on the marginalisation and targeting of Sunni Iraqis. In this context, activists circulated footage of security forces beating detainees with sticks, pipes and cables while shouting

25 sectarian abuse at them.

Other cases include the following: 1. The Arab Organisation for Human Rights in the UK (AOHR UK) revealed on 12th March 2014 that Iraqi security forces had stormed prison cells in Abu Ghraib and al-Tajji prisons and electrocuted prisoners3.

2. On 10th June, Ministry of Interior forces arrested Taha Kurdi, a 33 yearold father of two, at Baghdad Public Court for allegedly being a leader of ISIL. Two weeks later his family received news that he had died under suspicious circumstances. The Ministry of Interior claimed he died of an illness.

A human rights organisation remarked that it was likely Taha died undergoing torture, given the bruises and cuts evident on his body4.

3. On 7th July, footage released on YouTube showed army officers torturing detainees by cutting their backs and rubbing salt into their wounds 5 .

arrested both men in 2005 after a raid on their house in Baghdad. Despite many attempts by their families to obtain information from the Ministries of Human Rights and Defence, the fate of the two brothers remains unknown.

Twenty-five other people were arrested at the same time and taken in a military truck to an unknown location6.

5. On 13th November, a human rights website published horrific photos of Sunni detainee Adnan Jalal al-Fahdawi, a mosque Imam from Al Khaldiya, who was tortured following his arrest.

Adnan died three days later due to injuries sustained under torture7.

6. On 22nd November, al-Hashd militias arrested 100 civilians, including women and children, from the Jurf Al Sakhar area. Many of those detained have not yet been released.

The right to racial equality •

Sectarian violence and displacement

4. On 28th October, a human rights organisation sent a letter to the UN Special Rapporteur on Enforced Disappearances regarding the disappearance of two detained brothers, Mohammed and Nihad al-Mashhadani. Government forces

Displacements and immigrations have gained momentum since the USled attack on Iraq in 2003, especially following the escalating sectarian violence which targeted many innocent civilians. The past year saw ISIL take over vast areas of Iraq including

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4 5

http://baghdadchrs.com/?p=1248 [Baghdad Centre for Human Rights: New video shows security forces torturing detainees in Iraq (Arabic source)] h tt p s : / / w w w. a m n e s t y. o r g / e n / a r ti c l e s / news/2014/10/iraq-evidence-war-crimesg o v e r n m e n t- b a c ke d - s h i - m i l i ti a s / This video has now been removed from YouTube.

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http://ar.alkarama.org/iraq/item/5010-2005 [Alkarama organisation: Iraq – The disappearance of the brothers Mohammed and Nihad alMashhadani since 2005 (Arabic source)] http://baghdadchrs.com/?p=2900 [Baghdad Centre for Human Rights: Images of torture of Sheikh Adnan Jalal al-Fahdawi (Arabic source)]

26 Mosul, Biji, Ramadi and other towns and villages in between. Iran-backed militias intensified their operations in Iraq. Footage was uploaded on YouTube that depicts Iranian General Qasim Suleimani commanding armed operations with the objective of recapturing cities and towns that have fallen under ISIL control.

The year 2014 also witnessed an increase in the number of Iraqis who were displaced for ethnic and sectarian reasons, especially in Baghdad, Latifiya, Alexandria, Babel and Baqubah; areas with the most active Iran-backed militias. Cases include the following: 1. Many Christian families were forced to flee Mosul after ISIL took control of the city and ordered them to convert to Islam or pay jizya (requital money). The United Nations (UN) described these measures as a crime against humanity and a form of systematic ethnic cleansing. The Association of Muslim Scholars in Iraq denounced what happened as a violation of the teachings of Islam.

2. On 16th June, Iraq’s World Health Organisation (WHO) representative, Sayed Jafar Hussein, announced that the armed conflicts in Mosul and neighboring areas led to the displacement of hundreds of thousands of civilians. According to WHO estimates, more than 500,000 Iraqis fled their homes: 100,000 ended up going to Erbil and 200,000 to Dohuk, whilst 25,000 sought shelter in

schools and mosques in Mosul. Many don’t have access to clean drinking water following the destruction of the local water management stations8.

3. On 21st July, Amnesty International documented the displacement of a Christian family by fighters belonging to the Ahl al-Haq militia, a splinter group that originally fought with the al-Mahdi army led by Muqtada al-Sadr.

4. More than one million Iraqis have fled al-Anbar and Falluja, of whom tens of thousands are currently living in tents and need urgent aid and relief.

5. A UN report also revealed that more than 1.9 million Iraqis were displaced, including 200,000 who have been displaced since early September, most of them from Kirkuk, al-Anbar, Saladin and Diyala.

6. An Amnesty International report indicated that hundreds of thousands were displaced by the armed conflicts in Iraq9.

7. The capture of Nineveh by ISIL led to the displacement of nearly 200,000 Yazidis, a religious sect from Sinjar. The persecuted Yazidis fled to the Kurdistan Mountains where the UN managed to rescue some10.

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http://www.emro.who.int/media/news/ humanitarian-situation-iraq.html 9 https://www.amnesty.org/en/articles/ news/2014/08/iraq-mass-displacementnorthern-iraq/ 10 http://www.unocha.org/top-stories/all-stories/ iraq-humanitarian-community-responds-mountsinjar-crisis

27

The right to freedoms of the press and expression •

Press

With a lack of protection from injury, arrest and even murder, the year 2014 was among the most difficult for journalists working in Iraq. Journalists have been the target of arbitrary arrests and repression. They are also often direct targets of shooting by government forces and their militias as well as armed opposition groups.

Cases include the following: 1. On 17th January, Ministry of Interior security forces shut down the operations of the Saudi-backed Asharq Al-Awsat in Iraq on the pretext that it was not licenced to print in Iraq11.

2. Journalist Firas Mohammed Attiya was killed on 20th January when a bomb placed on the side of the road exploded while he was covering the clashes between government forces, pro-government militias and ISIL fighters 12.

3. On 5th February, government security forces arrested Al Sharqiya channel photojournalist Majed Sha’bani while he was on the job.

Despite having a licence to practice, Sha’bani was taken to Abu-Ghraib in Baghdad. The Iraqi Observatory for Press Freedoms demanded his 11 http://tinyurl.com/qgk5b48 [Deutsche Welle (DW): Baghdad stops local edition of the Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper (Arabic source)] 12 https://www.cpj.org/killed/2014/firasmohammed-attiyah.php

immediate release and called on the Government to allow journalists to work freely without fear of arrest or murder 13 .

4. The offices of Al Sabah Al Jadid newspaper were targeted with explosives following an incitement campaign against the newspaper for publishing cartoons that mocked the Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei 14 .

5. The withdrawal of government troops from Mosul and large areas around the city left the door open for ISIL to gain control of these areas.

ISIL bans any type of press coverage without obtaining prior permit form the group. As such a number of journalists were arrested and had their homes attacked with explosives. The Iraqi Observatory for Press Freedoms revealed that ISIL arrested two Egyptian journalists on 29th June: Jamal al-Masri and Maysaloon Jawadi, both of whom work for the Al-Mosulia TV channel. ISIL fighters raided the home of Jamal alMasri, arrested him along with his son and seized the house’s contents before taking them to an unknown location.

His son was released the following day.

Maysaloon Jawadi was arrested at her home and taken to a women’s prison in Mosul.

6. Reporters Without Borders said 13 http://bit.do/UsPt [Journalistic Freedoms Observatory (JFO): Television photojournalist detained by Iraqi army forces in Baghdad (Arabic source)] 14 http://english.al-akhbar.com/node/18650

28 that Leyla Yildizhan, a Kurdish lady who uses the pseudonym Deniz Firat, was killed on 8th August during fighting between the Iraqi Kurdish fighters and the Islamic State group.

7. The Society for the Defence of Press Freedoms in Iraq announced that reporter Miqdad Hasan was held by the Iranian authorities after a name mixup. Miqdad was released a week later but died in mysterious circumstances in his hotel.

8. The Centre for the Protection of Journalists in Saladin Governorate revealed that ISIL fighters executed Raad Al-Azzawi, an employee of the governor’s office and Sama Salah Aldeen TV channel.

The right to life and security •

Extrajudicial killings

As international bombing of ISIL targets intensified, so too did the tempo of human rights violations. Human rights organisations documented many cases of extrajudicial killings by security forces, government-backed militias and ISIL. Cases include the following: 1. At the end of 2013, government forces launched an attack on Sunni demonstrators from Al Anbar Governorate and Al-Hawija District who were demanding political and social reforms. Six people were killed and 19 others were injured in the attacks, according to medical sources at

Ramadi Hospital. The Iraqi government denies the attacks resulted in any casualties.

2. On 23rd January 2014, security forces from Diyala killed seven people after claiming they were planning to attack the city hall building. Members from the Special Forces put three of the bodies on display.

3. On 22nd March, a member of the Presidential Guard shot dead University Professor Mohammed Bdewi during a heated argument.

4. On 26th April, several armed men assassinated Abdul-Karim al-Dosari, a member of the Mutahidoon Coalition.

Witnesses said that armed men shot at al-Dosari, his son and three of his guards as they left a mosque. The assassination coincided with power shortages in the area.

5. On 29th May, a guard manning Al-Ghazali Mosque was shot and killed by armed attackers in a sectarian motivated attack.

6.

Amnesty International documented the abduction of 170 men in June 2014. The men were taken from Samarra and neighbouring Sunni areas. Many of these men were later found dead, while the others are still missing. Amnesty International said it believed the killings came as revenge for the seizing and control of parts of the city by ISIL. 7. On 15th June, members from Baquba’s police headquarters in Diyala

29 province executed at least 50 detainees at al-Wahda Police Station. The city’s mayor informed Amnesty International that his 21-year old nephew Yassir al-Ali was among those who were executed.

July. Human rights organisations also condemned the mass killing of worshippers at Musab Bin Omair Mosque in the Imam Wais village in Diyala province on Friday 22nd August.

8. ISIL announced it had executed 1,700 soldiers in the city of Tikrit after taking over an army base in the area. Images of masked ISIL militants executing soldiers and dumping their bodies in the Tigris River were posted on Twitter.

13. According to Diyala police officials, more than 70 Iraqis, including some women and children, were killed when Shia militia forces backed by the police attacked a mosque. Eyewitnesses said a bomb had earlier exploded near a centre for Shia militiamen in the region prompting the militiamen to retaliate by attacking the mosque with automatic weapons, killing its guard and most of the worshippers.

Security forces surrounded the area and prevented ambulances and locals from approaching the scene.

9. ISIL also abducted and killed Mahmoud Mohammed Rida and his uncle Zinal Mohammed Rida at a checkpoint manned by ISIL fighters east of Mosul. Their mutilated bodies were found two days later.

10. Members of the local Babil Police executed 69 prisoners inside their cells on 27th June and later transferred their bodies to Baghdad.

11. According to Human Rights Watch (HRW) “Iraqi security forces and militias affiliated with the government appear to have unlawfully executed at least 255 prisoners in six Iraqi cities and villages since 9th June 2014. In all but one case, the executions took place while the fighters were fleeing Islamic State of Iraq and Sham (ISIS) and other armed groups.

The vast majority of security forces and militias are Shia, while the murdered prisoners were Sunni. At least eight of those killed were boys under age 18.”

12. Twenty-six Iraqi women were brutally executed in Baghdad on 12th

14. A medical source in al-Falluja Teaching Hospital revealed that the government military operations had led to the killing of 1,623 people, including 260 children and 131 women, in addition to injuring 3,237 others, including 410 children and 317 women.

15. Al Anbar Governorate, especially Falluja, has been the target of intensive military operations aimed at regaining control over the city which has fallen under the control of armed opposition groups. According to an Iraqi human rights organisation, at least 133 Iraqi prisoners died under torture during one week in November in Diyala, alAnbar and Baghdad. The organisation added that all those killed had been

30 brutally tortured with electricity, pipes and chains.

16. Pro-government Ahl al-Haq militias abducted and killed the football player Khalid Abid Shian in November 2014.

17. In early December, civilians from Jalola in Diyala, and other Bishmarka sources, revealed that al-Hash militias robbed and burnt down homes and shops belonging to locals.

18. The UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) announced during the same month that more than 3,666 Iraqis were killed in November 2014.

Baghdad had the worst record with more than 1,253 killed in the capital alone. The head of UNAMI added that more than 34,000 Iraqis were killed in 2014. •

Arbitrary bombings and the use of excessive force

Iraqi government forces and coalition forces carried out many airstrikes on various ‘terrorist’ targets.

The attacks often led to the death and injury of innocent civilians. An airstrike on the town of Tikrit in December 2014 killed 31 civilians, including 24 children, and injured 41 others despite government claims it was targeting ISIL strongholds, something that the victims denied in statements to HRW. On 12th December, government fighter jets bombed a school and a hospital in Howija, north of Baghdad,

killing and injuring at least 50 people.

Some of the dead were children who had taken refuge with their parents in the school.