JURIST - Paper Chase: UN condemns detentions, torture and executions in Iraq

[JURIST] In its latest bi-monthly report on human rights in Iraq [text] the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI) [official website] Thursday detailed widespread and lengthy detentions of suspected Sunni insurgents, systematic use of torture during interrogations at police stations and other Ministry of the Interior [Global Security backgrounder] premises, and condemned the Iraqi revival of the death penalty. Although the Shiite-led government has admitted to the torture and abuse of detainees [JURIST report], it has denied Sunni accusations that it tolerates death squads among police forces. In addition to the 36 bodies of tortured victims [Al-Kut report] found two weeks ago, there have been 14 more newly-killed victims of "extrajudicial executions" bearing similar signs of torture. The killings have increased sectarian tensions within Iraq as the country prepares to vote in a referendum on a new Iraqi constitution [JURIST news archive], the draft of which is opposed by many Sunni leaders [JURIST report]. Reuters has more.

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