JURIST - Paper Chase: Iraq justice minister condemns US detention of Iraqi citizens

[JURIST] Iraqi Justice Minister Abdul Hussein Shandal has criticized the US military for arresting and detaining Iraqi citizens and journalists without bringing charges against them, and is calling for either amendment or discontinuation of a UN Security Council resolution [JURIST report] giving the US military immunity from Iraqi law. Shandal told Reuters news agency that the extended detentions have led to human rights violations which the Justice Ministry is not able to correct because Security Council Resolution 1546 [text, PDF], passed after Saddam Hussein lost power in 2003, gives the Multinational Force (MNF) [official website] full authority over the handling of arrests. Shandal said he planned to work with the Security Council to change or end the resolution and is pushing for the release of 10,000 Iraqis currently being held at the Abu Ghraib prison [JURIST news archive] in Baghdad. Last month, amid protests from media rights group, a US military tribunal authorized the continued detention [JURIST report] without charge of a Iraqi Reuters cameraman. Reuters has more.

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