Iraq: Basra residents call for human rights recognition

IRIN

Residents of Basra, some 550km south of the capital, are calling for recognition of their human rights following a series of allegations of abusive treatment by local police. This follows the announcement by the central government in Baghdad that security in the south of the country was improving (...) "Local police are treating residents badly by using their power without limits." Haydary says police are particularly brutal at check points and during home raids, lashing out at anyone that challenges their right to do so. This has been collaborated by Ali Jalil, a local resident, who said: "Just because I told them [police] that they do not have the right to search my home without an official letter from the Ministry of Interior, they hit me and my son and forced my wife and daughter out of our house." Jalil went on to claim that he was arrested without any evidence, was tortured for three days in prison and then was dropped some 30km from his home with a stern warning to never disobey the police again...

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