NYT: Basra Raid Finds Dozens Held By Iraqi Gov't Spy Unit ("Signs of Torture")
By KIRK SEMPLE
Published: March 5, 2007
BAGHDAD, Monday, March 5 — Iraqi special forces and British troops stormed the offices of an Iraqi government intelligence agency in the southern city of Basra on Sunday, and British officials said they discovered about 30 prisoners, some showing signs of torture.
The raid appeared to catch Iraq’s central government by surprise and raised new questions about the rule of law in the Shiite-dominated south, where less than two weeks ago Britain announced plans for a significant reduction in its forces because of improved stability.
Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, a conservative Shiite, condemned the raid in Basra, but he publicly said nothing about the evidence of torture. “The prime minister has ordered an immediate investigation into the incident of breaking into the security compound in Basra and stressed the need to punish those who have carried out this illegal and irresponsible act,” said the full text of a statement issued late Sunday by his office.
It remained unclear why he sought to pursue the raiding force aggressively rather than the accusations of prisoner abuse. Efforts to reach officials in his office were unsuccessful.
The discovery of prisoners in the Basra building, which the British described as a bureau of Iraq’s government intelligence agency, echoed other recent cases where American or British forces stumbled onto a government-run detention center that held people showing signs of torture.
LinkHere
Published: March 5, 2007
BAGHDAD, Monday, March 5 — Iraqi special forces and British troops stormed the offices of an Iraqi government intelligence agency in the southern city of Basra on Sunday, and British officials said they discovered about 30 prisoners, some showing signs of torture.
The raid appeared to catch Iraq’s central government by surprise and raised new questions about the rule of law in the Shiite-dominated south, where less than two weeks ago Britain announced plans for a significant reduction in its forces because of improved stability.
Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, a conservative Shiite, condemned the raid in Basra, but he publicly said nothing about the evidence of torture. “The prime minister has ordered an immediate investigation into the incident of breaking into the security compound in Basra and stressed the need to punish those who have carried out this illegal and irresponsible act,” said the full text of a statement issued late Sunday by his office.
It remained unclear why he sought to pursue the raiding force aggressively rather than the accusations of prisoner abuse. Efforts to reach officials in his office were unsuccessful.
The discovery of prisoners in the Basra building, which the British described as a bureau of Iraq’s government intelligence agency, echoed other recent cases where American or British forces stumbled onto a government-run detention center that held people showing signs of torture.
LinkHere
posted by Kangaroo Brisbane Australia at 11:40 PM
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