Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06BAGHDAD3057
2006-08-22 14:43:00
SECRET
Embassy Baghdad
Cable title:  

IRAQI MINISTERS ON DETENTION CENTERS INSPECTIONS

Tags:  PGOV PINS PNAT PREL PTER MOPS IZ 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO7607
OO RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHIHL RUEHKUK
DE RUEHGB #3057/01 2341443
ZNY SSSSS ZZH
O 221443Z AUG 06
FM AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 6404
INFO RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUEKJCS/CJCS WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
RHMFISS/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL IMMEDIATE
RHEHAAA/WHITE HOUSE WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 03 BAGHDAD 003057 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/21/2016
TAGS: PGOV PINS PNAT PREL PTER MOPS IZ
SUBJECT: IRAQI MINISTERS ON DETENTION CENTERS INSPECTIONS
AND LEAHY AMENDMENT

Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Daniel V. Speckhard for Reasons 1.4 (b
) and (d).

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 03 BAGHDAD 003057

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/21/2016
TAGS: PGOV PINS PNAT PREL PTER MOPS IZ
SUBJECT: IRAQI MINISTERS ON DETENTION CENTERS INSPECTIONS
AND LEAHY AMENDMENT

Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Daniel V. Speckhard for Reasons 1.4 (b
) and (d).


1. (S//REL GBR AUS) SUMMARY: At an August 20 meeting at the
Ambassador's Residence the Ministers for Defense, Interior,
Justice and Human Rights discussed procedures for improving
the treatment of criminal detainees in Iraq in accordance
with applicable human rights standards. Regarding the Site 4
human rights abuses and possible Leahy Amendment
implications, Minister of Interior Bolani asserted that he is
waiting for a written letter from the investigative judge
confirming that there is probable cause to arrest the people
for whom arrest orders have been issued. (NOTE: This letter
was delivered to Minister Bolani on Monday, August 21. END
NOTE.) The Minister of Human Rights complained that her
letter to the PM asking for the resumption of inspections at
Iraqi detention facilities and prisons has not been answered.
She accepted with alacrity the Ambassador's offer to raise
the issue with the Prime Minister. The ministers discussed
the future of the Jordanian International Police Training
Center (JIPTC) in Jordan but did not come to a conclusion.
The discussion also revealed several inter-ministerial
committees that have human rights implications, and the Human
Rights Minister - who had not previously known of their
existence - was invited to attend their meetings. The
discussion was held in a serious and earnest atmosphere and
improved the communications flow among the four ministers,
particularly with the Minister of Human Rights. END SUMMARY.


2. (S//REL GBR AUS) On August 20, the Ambassador invited to
his Residence Defense Minister (MOD) Abdul Qader al-Mufraji,
Interior Minister (MOI) Jawad al-Bolani, Justice Minister
(MOJ) Hashim al-Shibli, and Human Rights Minister (MOHR)
Wijdan Mikha'il. Also participating were Rule of Law (ROL)
Coordinator James Yellin; Task Force 134 (detainee
operations) Commanding Major General Jack Gardner; Senior

Consultant at the Ministry of Justice Dr. Frank A. Ramaizel;
and Pol-Mil Counselor Maerkle (note-taker).

Jordan International Police Training Center (JIPTC)
-------------- --------------

3. (S//REL GBR AUS) The Ambassador raised the issue of the
future of JIPTC. Should it be closed and all training
conducted in Iraq? Should it be open to police officers from
other countries? Should it focus on specialized training
such as counter-terrorism instead of the present introductory
police training? MOI Bolani said it should be kept open
because he is firing incompetent officers, and will need to
train their replacements. He would welcome trainees from
other countries that could help spread the Amman facility's
operating costs. MOJ al-Shibli objected that JIPTC's cost is
too high, and that a similar but lower cost international
police training facility attracting foreign instructors could
be established in the Kurdistan region, the most stable and
secure part of Iraq. MOI pointed out that when the JIPTC was
established, Iraq had no such facilities. JIPTC has trained
38,000 police force members. Now, Iraq's Interior Ministry
has 12 police academies graduating 2,500 trainees every two
months, for a total of about 15,000 graduates a year. The
Iraqi curriculum includes a human rights component, and
members who pass the test are given a special reward. There
remains a problem of under-trained commanders in the police
force, however, especially in technical areas such as
explosives.

Iraqi Inter-Ministerial Committees on Detainees
-------------- --


4. (S//REL GBR AUS) Responding to the Ambassador's question
on inter-ministerial committees, MOD Abdul Qader explained
that the GOI has a special committee composed of deputy
ministers chaired by the MOJ, an Inspectors General
sub-committee on human rights, and a Transitional Justice and
Rule of Law Committee sponsored by the UN. Finally, there is
a committee on the transfer of prisoners from the Interior
Ministry to the Justice Ministry. ROL Coordinator Yellin
pointed out that the Justice Integration Project supports an
inter-ministerial committee chaired by the Chief Justice that
seeks to improve coordination among the police, prisons,
courts and other elements of the justice system. MOHR said
that she was unaware of some of these committees that have
human rights implications, and the MOI promptly invited her
to attend one such meeting the following day.

Judicial Process is Not Well Coordinated
--------------

5. (S//REL GBR AUS) ROL Coordinator Yellin observed that
there is insufficient communication and coordination between

BAGHDAD 00003057 002 OF 003


the police and the judicial system. When MOJ blamed the
Higher Juridical Council (HJC),MOI complained that the
Facilities Protection Service (FPS) at the MOJ is
irresponsible. When MOI delivers detainees, the FPS rejects
them. MOJ complained that after a detainee is arrested, an
investigative judge should hear the charges within 72 hours
and make a preliminary judgment whether the person should be
formally charged, released, or held pending further
investigation. Often the detainees that the FPS rejects are
those who lack the records issued by an investigating judge.
MG Gardner pointed out that many investigative judges fear
going to detention centers to hear cases because if they are
recognized and their names known, they and their families may
be in danger. MG Gardner strongly urged that HJC Chief Judge
Medhat should be brought into the process in order to address
this challenge of investigative judges' reluctance to review
MOI detainees and issue detention orders. This reluctance is
the primary obstacle to the Ministry of Justice agreeing to
receive MOI detainees. The Ambassador suggested that the
meeting the following day should raise that topic with Judge
Medhat.

Status of the GOI Prison Inspection Teams
--------------

6. (S//REL GBR AUS) The Ambassador asked why the work of the
Iraqi detention facilities inspections team abruptly ended on
May 30, after the most recent inspection at Site 4, where the
team again found abusive and overcrowded conditions, and
whether these inspections could be restarted. MOI Bolani
said that MOI has established its own committee to follow up
on the condition of detainees, coordinating with the HJC so
the HJC can speedily adjudicate the cases. Further, each
ministry has its own inspection process. MOI has its own
detainee health and social affairs office. Detainees can now
talk to their families weekly.


7. (S//REL GBR AUS) MOJ doubted that inspections alone would
be effective. He said that corruption is widespread in the
Iraqi detention and prison systems. Even if there were
weekly inspections, he said, once the inspectors left the
abuse problems would continue. What is needed is an
administrative reform program to rebuild the Iraqi justice
system. This would require extensive training. For example,
in many cases ordinary police officers are in charge of
detention facilities, rather than wardens trained in
administration and criminal justice. But people selected for
any training, especially that conducted overseas, must be
evaluated beforehand for their ability to absorb what they
learn, and then pass it on to their Iraqi colleagues and
subordinates.

Lack of Written Authorization for Resumed Inspections
-------------- --------------


8. (S//REL GBR AUS) MG Gardner explained that after the Site
4 inspection, the Iraqi inspection team members felt
threatened, and asked for written authorization from the
Prime Minister for the inspections to continue. To date,
they have not received written authorization from him. MOI
Bolani asked that any resumption of inspections be by
professionals, and not include Council of Representative
(CoR) members. He complained that CoR members had
accompanied an inspection of Diyala Prison, and playing to
the Iraqi street, took along cameras to photograph those
accused of human rights violations. The photos, in turn,
quickly appeared on all the satellite TV broadcasts. The
accused officers promptly disappeared into Iraqi society,
without a fair trial and without punishment. (NOTE: No Iraqi
prison inspections with MNF-I and Embassy support have
occurred in Diyala province, and no CoR representatives have
ever participated in any such inspection. End Note.)


9. (S//REL GBR AUS) The Minister of Human Rights noted that
she had sent a letter to Prime Minister Maliki about
MOHR-headed inter-ministerial inspections of prisons and
detention facilities. She never received a response. She
feels strongly that more inspections are needed. The
Ambassador quickly offered to take a copy of her letter to
the Prime Minister and ask him to respond to her promptly.
She accepted his offer with alacrity, while noting that this
meeting at the Residence was the first time that she had had
a four-way discussion among the other three principal
ministers of the detention and justice system.

Ministers Agree Inspections Should Resume
--------------


10. (S//REL GBR AUS) All ministers agreed that the Iraqi-led

BAGHDAD 00003057 003 OF 003


inspections, supported by MNF-I and the U.S. Embassy, should
resume. The teams should be comprised of Inspectors General
from the Ministries of Defense, Interior, Justice, and Human
Rights, with MNF-I and Embassy support. The Minister of
Human Rights agreed to lead efforts on behalf of the
ministers present for reinstatement of these inspection teams.

Site 4 and the Leahy Amendment
--------------


11. (S//REL GBR AUS) As the group was breaking up, the
Ambassador accompanied MOI Bolani to the front door, and gave
him in writing talking points explaining that the failure to
execute the arrest warrants issued by an Iraqi judge on June
27 for 17 people (including MOI Major General Mahdi Sobiah,
the Commander of the Second National Police Division)
implicated in the torture and human rights abuses discovered
at Site 4 and other MOI detention facilities on May 30 could
jeopardize continued U.S. assistance to the Iraqi National
Police on the basis of the Leahy Law provisions of the
Foreign Operations and the DoD Appropriations Acts. (Note:
There is credible evidence that these 17 people committed
gross violations of human rights. End Note.) Bolani replied
that he was waiting for a letter from the investigative judge
confirming that there was probable cause to arrest the people
in question. He also said that two of those named by the
judge had already turned themselves into the police for
questioning. (Note: Though Bolani has had the warrants for
weeks and faces no apparent legal obstacle to their
execution, such a letter, along with additional materials
justifying the warrants, was prepared for him on August 7 and
successfully delivered to him on Monday, August 21. End
Note.)

Comment
--------------

12. (S//REL GBR AUS) Although the topic of human rights
abuses was potentially controversial, the discussion was held
in a serious and earnest, but not tense atmosphere. Even MOI
Bolani, whose ministry was most under fire, was not
excessively defensive, but rather seemed to freely
acknowledge problems and express willingness to reform and
improve the MOI. The lunch improved the communications flow
among the four ministers, particularly with the Minister of
Human Rights.
SPECKHARD