More than 100,000 Iraqis in jail
More than 100,000 Iraqis in jail
By Nidhal Laithi
Azzaman, September 13, 2007
With the advent of the holy month of Ramadan, many hoped U.S. and Iraqi authorities would settle the issue of tens of thousand of Iraqi prisoners.
U.S. troops hold 23,600 Iraqis almost all of them without trial. The U.S. has promised to release 50 of them every day throughout Ramadan.
But the U.S. is not the only authority with the right to jail Iraqis. Iraqi armed forces and police can also imprison Iraqis without trail and informed sources say there are more than 82,000 Iraqis in government jails.
Prisoners have become one of the thorniest issues blocking the path to reconciliation with government opponents, particularly the Sunnis demanding the immediate release of all those who have not been convicted of a crime.
But neither the U.S. nor the government is willing to heed the Sunni demand.
The government has only agreed to release 200 on the occasion of the holy month and the U.S. has accepted to free about 1,500.
Most of these prisoners are snatched from their families or haphazardly arrested during military campaigns or on checkpoints.
But Maliki has ordered the immediate release of morel than 300 Iranians jailed in Iraq. The sources said the freeing of the Iranians was in response to a pledge Maliki had made to a visiting Iranian official.
Iraqi Kurds have their own jails too where opponents, particularly from the cities bordering their enclave are held.
But the sources said the Kurdish authorities have freed several thousand prisoners, belonging to the northern city of Mosul and its outlying districts.
Mosul is not part of the Kurdish enclave but their militias operate in the city and towns and villages nearby.
The Justice Ministry is increasing the pressure on the Iraqi government, U.S. troops and Kurdish authorities to let a high judicial commission examine the files of all prisoners.
The ministry would like the commission to have the prerogative to set all the prisoners who have not been convicted free and expedite the trial of those accused of committing a crime.
