Iraqi forces & human rights

Sarah Leah Whitson, Executive Director for Human Rights Watch, said Iraqi forces and international advisers were allowing abuses to "go unchecked" in the name of bringing stability to Iraq. "The people of Iraq were promised something better than this after the government of Saddam Hussein fell. The Iraqi interim government is not keeping its promises to honour and respect basic human rights. Sadly, the Iraqi people continue to suffer from a government that acts with impunity in its treatment of detainees."

Among the alleged abuses detailed in the 94-page report:

• Detainees were routinely beaten with cables and metal rods during interrogation, given electric shocks and kept blindfolded and handcuffed for days
  
  
• Detainees were held for long periods in isolation, deprived of food and water and crammed into small cells with standing room only
  
  
• Iraqi police sought bribes in return for releasing prisoners or allowing them access to family members or food and water.