Ten Years after Invasion, Opponents Punished, Trial Rights Ignored
Addendum: Findings were based on research conducted in Iraq, including meetings with lawyers and families of detainees, and meetings with members of parliament and Human Rights Minister Mohamed Shia al-Sudani.
(Baghdad) – Iraq’s leadership used draconian measures against opposition politicians, detainees, demonstrators, and journalists, effectively squeezing the space for independent civil society and political freedoms in Iraq, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2013.
The number of violent civilian deaths in Iraq increased in 2012, for the first time since 2009. Thousands of civilians and police were killed in spates of violence, including targeted assassinations, amid a political crisis that has dragged on since December 2011. Alongside the uptick in violence, Iraqi security forces arbitrarily conducted mass arrests and tortured detainees to extract confessions with little or no evidence of wrongdoing. ٌread report in full ≥