New anger over detentions
ABU GHRAIB, Iraq – A year after the Abu Ghraib abuse scandal erupted, Iraqi anger has flared anew over growing numbers of detainees held without charge at the detention center and another prison in the south.
As the United States battles the insurgency in Iraq, military sweeps have netted many guerrillas, but also thousands whose offenses were nonexistent, minor or impossible to prove. They often are held for months, only to be released without explanation.
The population of long-term detainees in Abu Ghraib and the larger Camp Bucca, near Basra, has more than doubled since August, now topping 10,000. With a large operation by Iraqi security forces under way in Baghdad, that number could rise.
The military has a multi-tiered system to ensure innocent people caught up in events are not held for extensive periods. Records provided by the military, however, show that only about one in four people arrested ultimately meets the test of evidence. Nonetheless, more than half are detained three months or more before being freed.
The men are held as security risks under the U.N. Security Council resolution that gives coalition forces the authority to maintain order in Iraq. After secret reviews of their cases, some are let go. But the future of those who remain in custody is unclear. There is no limit on how long they can be held.
U.S. military officials did not respond to questions from the Los Angeles Times about why detainees have been held so long before being freed. Lt. Col. Guy Rudisill, spokesman for detention operations, said the board that reviews the evidence against long-term detainees had been expanded to speed up the process.
Almost without fail, people who know someone in detention contend that the person is a loyal citizen who did nothing wrong. A high rate of release shows that, at the least, it is hard to prove them wrong.
Mazin Farouq, a 35-year-old photo lab technician, was held for six months. Farouq was shot by U.S. soldiers as he and two friends drove home to Baghdad one November night last year after a vacation trip to Syria. He said they did not see the checkpoint and fled in panic when they heard shots. Finding nothing, the soldiers immediately freed the two friends and took Farouq to nearby Abu Ghraib for treatment at its field hospital.
He said he received excellent medical care and expected to be released. Instead, he was placed in detention. Two months later, he was transferred to Bucca. After making numerous calls and visits to the ministries of interior and human rights, Farouq’s parents finally were told his case would be reviewed in early May. Farouq was released May 9.
In an interview, he said he believes his incarceration was a cover-up.
“They did not suspect me, but I think they made a mistake and all these procedures are to protect the soldier who committed this mistake,” he said.
Long internments such as Farouq’s have raised the ire of civil rights groups, Iraqi media and some political leaders, who accuse the United States of being indiscriminate in its search for insurgents.