MOI DETENTION FACILITY INSPECTED: OVERCROWDED,

C O N F I D E N T I A L BAGHDAD 001241

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/16/2016
TAGS: IZ MARR MOPS PGOV PHUM DOJ CRIM OPDAT
SUBJECT: MOI DETENTION FACILITY INSPECTED: OVERCROWDED,
FILTHY, JUVENILES HELD, NO JUDGES


Classified By: ROL SENIOR ADVISOR James Yellin
for reasons 1.4 (a) and (d)


1. (C) SUMMARY: On April 5, the Iraqi-U.S.
Joint Inspection Detention Facility Team
(JIDFT) conducted its seventh unannounced
inspection of an Iraqi detention facility.
The inspection took place at the Ministry
of Interior (MoI) National Police Division
Headquarters located at Forward
Operating Base Justice. The facility
was found to be overcrowded and filthy.
A total of 657 detainees, including 17
juveniles, are housed in four rooms.
(NOTE: According to Iraqi law, juveniles
are to be held in separate facilities
managed by the Ministry of Labor (MOL)
END NOTE.) There were files for each
detainee, but none of them contained
judicial orders. We were told the
judicial orders had all been temporarily
sent to the Ministry of Justice (MoJ)
for accounting purposes relating to the
fact that MoJ has recently taken the
responsibility for the feeding of
the detainees.


2. (C) SUMMARY CONT. The majority of
the detainees have been held in this
facility for more than two months;
many others have been held there for
over eight months. The majority of
detainees said they have seen a judge
one time since their arrival. However,
neither of the two investigative judges
assigned to the facility were on duty
at the time of the inspection, despite
it being a work day. We were told
the absence of the judges is a common
occurrence. We surmise this may be a
contributing factor to the high numbers
of detainees languishing in this
facility.


3. (C) SUMMARY CONT. In terms of abuse,
only a few detainees reported physical
abuse at the police battalion facilities
where they were placed immediately
after arrest, and prior to coming to the
Division facility. None claimed to have
been abused at the facility itself.
However, a number of detainees alleged
to the team that the juveniles were
being subjected to sexual abuse.
END SUMMARY.

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PRIMARY AREAS OF CONCERN
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4. (C) Detention housing. The 657 detainees
in the facility areheld in four separate
rooms: three small rooms (approximately
30 feet x 75 feet) held 137 each; one
larger room (approximately 50 feet x 100
feet)held 246. Inside the three smaller
rooms there is barely enough room for the
detainees to sit together on the bare
floor and there is not enough room for
all of them to lie down at the same time.
In the larger room the detainees sit
in several orderly rows on the tiled floor
but again, there is insufficient room for
them all to recline at once. None of the
rooms have running water or bedding.
Detainees remain in these
"holding pens" most of the time.
They are only allowed outside
once a day to visit a portable latrine.


5. (C) Cleanliness. The rooms are
unswept,poorly lit, and lack ventilation.
The odor in each room is vile. Detainees
are only rarely allowed showers, and
most said they have not showered in
months. This was confirmed by the staff.
The lack of showers has led
to a deterioration of health

conditions. Lice, skin rashes, and an
overall unsanitary atmosphere pose
ongoing problems.


6. (C) Food and water. It appears that
detainees are sufficiently fed.
They receive food, which is provided
by MoJ, twice daily. Provision of
drinking water appears to be insufficient.


7. (C) Medical Care. The facility has one
on-site physician's assistant who was present
at the time of the inspection. Many detainees
appear to be in need of routine medical care
for minor illnesses or pre-existing
medical conditions. One of the detainees
currently being held lay on his back
in a separate room. He was
very weak, thin, and despondent.
The JIDFT was told he is separated from the
rest because he suffers from tuberculosis.
A list of drugs he is currently taking
to address the illness was provided.
The team was told that when urgent
medical care is needed detainees are taken to
an Iraqi hospital for care.


8. (C) Physical and sexual abuse.
None of the of the detainees complained
of recent abuse, although some alleged
they had been subject to physical
abuse when initially arrested by the
police. Several detainees claimed that
juvenile detainees are being sexually
abused. This was not confirmed or
alleged by any of the juveniles
themselves.


9. (C) Juveniles. The facility holds 17
juveniles. According to Iraqi law,
juveniles are to be detained in separate
facilities managed by the Ministry of Labor
(MoL). It seems at least some of the
juveniles are being held merely because
they were present in homes at which MoI
units conducted raids. When asked
about one 16 year old boy who was seen
crying throughout the visit, the JIDFT
was told the only reason he is being held
is because MoI unit went to
arrest his "uncle" for kidnapping, and the
boy was present in the house with him.
When asked if the boy could be released,
the facility manager responded that he could,
the next time the investigative judge is
on-site. (NOTE: On April 9, Iraqi JIDFT
members requested a status update
on the boy. According to facility
management, he was still being held,
as neither of the two judges assigned
to the facility had reported to work.
END NOTE.)


10. (C) Time in detention. The
majority of detainees said they
have been in this facility
for more than two months and
some for over eight. No judicial
orders or records were available for
review. JIDFT was told that the
detainees' paperwork had been sent
temporarily to MoJ for accounting
purposes. They also conveyed that
about 60 detainees had recently been
transferred from a different detention
center without judicial orders.
During the inspection 56 detainees
were released. According to the
MoI staff this was a pre-planned
event that had not been staged for
the benefit of JIDFT.


11. (C) Lack of investigative judges.
There are two investigative judges
assigned to this facility. Neither
was present at the time of our visit.
(NOTE: In the seven inspections
conducted thus far, only once did we

find a judge on-site. Investigative
judges are supposed to be assigned to
detention facilities throughout
Iraq and are to report to duty
throughout the work week. END NOTE.)
Despite the fact that the majority of
detainees reported they had seen a judge
once, it appears that the sheer volume
of detainees has overwhelmed the ability
of judges to process the cases
expeditiously. The fact there are no
judicial records or judges at this
facility makes it impossible to process
any cases at all. Moreover, according
to facility officials, given overcrowded
conditions at Iraqi MOJ prisons, some
detainees were ordered to remain at this
MOI facility even after having
been convicted at trial.


12. (C) Lack of Family visits. There
is no official visitation day.
However, some detainees reported
having a family visit approximately
3-4 months ago. When confronted, the
staff stated that they would, in the
future, allow visits one day each month.
JIDFT understands MoI headquarters has
ordered all facilities to allow
visitation at least once a month.


13. (C) Ethnic-Sectarian Issues. In
an informal poll conducted during the
inspection, it was found that the
overwhelming majority of the detainees were
Sunni Arabs from the Baghdad area.

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FOLLOW UP ACTION
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14. (C) Iraqi and MNF-I JIDFT
representatives will draft separate
findings to submit to the Office of
the Prime Minister and the
Minister of Interior.


15. (C) The commander of the U.S.
Special Police Training Team that
is located at FOB Justice indicated
that he had discussed with Iraqi General
Mahdi(the commanding general of the
facility) plans to use existing
and newly constructed outlying
buildings (utilizing MNSTC-I
funds that have already
been authorized) to expand the
amount of living room available
for detainees. Additionally,
he and Mahdi had discussed
plans for an outdoor shower and
&recreational8 space. While
these tentative plans
would have a positive impact
on detainee living conditions
if carried out, the plans did
not envision expanding the facility
to accommodate greater numbers of
detainees. JDFIT should
follow up to check the status
of these plans.


16. (C) The JIDFT member from the
Iraqi Ministry of Human Rights
will send staff to the
facility next week to follow up on:
the status of individuals detained
without personal files; the progress
made by the detention management to
implement a family visitation policy;
the status of the investigative judges
assigned to the facility; and the
status of juvenile detainees.


17. (C) PolMil, DoJ, and
MNF-I Task Force 134 representatives
are working with members of the Iraqi
judiciary including Chief Judge Medhat

Mahmood to improve the capacity of
the judiciary to address and adjudicate
in a more timely fashion the number
of detainees held in facilities throughout
the country. In that undertaking,
TF-134 Commanding General of Jack Gardner
and Acting Justice Attach are planning
to meet with Medhat in the near future
to present a proposal to ensure the
assignment of Iraqi investigative
judges to detention facilities on a regular
basis. In addition, Acting Justice Attach
has arranged for three investigative
judges to accompany and work with the
JIDFT scheduled to conduct
another inspection on April 25.

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COMMENT
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18. (C) COMMENT: The joint inspections
conducted thus far confirm that the
Iraqi detention system is overcrowded,
underfunded, mismanaged, and inherently
abusive. Iraqi commitment to making the
necessary systemic improvements is lacking,
if it exists at all, and instead of
working to improve conditions, the
relevant ministries trade accusations
about who is to blame for the problems.
Real reform of this sector will take
Iraqi commitment, Iraqi resources,
Iraqi time, and Iraqi coordination
across several ministries.


19. (C) COMMENT CONT. Perhaps most
daunting, it will also take
a fundamental Iraqi change of
mentality and outlook toward the
whole issue of how to humanely treat
detainees and prisoners. As commented
upon previously, detainees are regularly
left to languish in substandard "warehouse"
situations without access to families
or legal counsel, under the
supervision of poorly trained
guards operating without clear authorities.
Many detainees lack complete case
files; intimidation and bribery of
judges and forced confessions present
serious issues. Further, limited judicial
capacity mandates long waits for detainee
hearings and trials. To the Iraqi
authorities, and perhaps to the
public at large, all this is
considered to be "normal."
MNF-I and Embassy officials will
continue in our efforts to assist the
Iraqis with detention reform. However,
the new Iraqi government, once established,
must make reform a priority.

KHALILZAD