ALLEGATIONS OF SECRET PRISONS IN KURDISTAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 003500

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/15/2016
TAGS: PHUM PTER IZ PGOV KDEM
SUBJECT: ALLEGATIONS OF SECRET PRISONS IN KURDISTAN

REF: A) BAGHDAD 03318 B) KIRKUK 00135 C) KIRKUK 00136
D) KIRKUK 00143

Classified By: POLCOUNS MARGRET SCOBEY FOR REASONS 1.4 (b) and (d)



1. (C) Summary. In a September 10 conversation, Kurdish
Alliance Council of Representative (CoR) member and Kirkuk
resident Muhammed Redha Muhammed claimed to Emboffs that both
the KDP and PUK Asayish (anti-terrorism security forces)
maintain secret detention facilities where they seriously
abuse detainees. KRG human right officials cannot inspect
Asayish facilities. Muhammed further alleged that the
Asayish often stray from Kurdistan into Kirkuk and
surrounding areas to abduct suspects for interrogation
purposes without an arrest warrant. Muhammed is a religious
leader who says that several of his followers have
experienced this treatment first hand. His allegations are
consistent with several conversations we held in late August
with KRG citizens and government leaders. End Summary.

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Asayish 101
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2. (C) According to KDP Ministry of Interior officials, the
KDP (Erbil/Dohuk) Asayish officially reports to the KRG Prime
Minister while the PUK Asayish reports to the PUK Ministry of
Interior (though unofficially to KRG DPM and PUK member Omar
Fattah). CoR member Redha claimed that of the two Asayish
entities, he considers the PUK,s (Suleimania) Asayish to be
more aggressive in its tactics. The KDP Asayish's intel
gathering arm is referred to as the Parastin while that of
the PUK is referred to as the Zanyari. The Asayish and their
intel arms are feared by local residents.


3. (C) The Asayish's mandate is anti-terrorism, and as such
pursues any suspect that it believes may be tied to such
cause. Our contacts indicate that there is not a lot of
transparency as to the work of the Asayish and their reasons
for detaining suspects, and it is partially for this reason
that they are feared. Among its targets, the Asayish has
been known to pursue individuals participating in protests,
particularly violent protests, as well as religious
extremists or conservatives. The KRG's own Minster of Awquf
and Religious Affairs (MARA) is geared towards monitoring
sermons and other indicators for links to terrorism (ref D).
This is in stark contrast from the work of central Iraq
Awqufs which are focused on promoting religion and the
construction of religious facilities.

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ALLEGATIONS OF TORTURE IN ASAYISH SECRET PRISONS
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4. (C) On September 10, CoR Religious Committee member
Muhammed Redha Muhammed (Kurdish Alliance) reported to
Emboffs that the Asayish were engaging in torture activities
in "secret" detention facilities. Although Muhammed
refrained from detailing the torture/abuse, he did elaborate
on one recent allegation. Mohammed alleged that a man from
Suleimaniya was arrested by PUK Asayish and died two days
later while in custody. The Asayish allegedly gave the body
back to the family but threatened the family to prevent them
from opening the coffin. Muhammed further alleged that the
Asayish often stray from their legal jurisdiction of
Kurdistan into Kirkuk surrounding areas to detain an
individual without even an arrest warrant (Ref B and C).


5. (C) In an unrelated August 26 meeting with several
residents of Suleimaniya, one Kurdish resident claimed that
when his cousin was released from the Asayish detention
facility (described as a small facility or house structure)
in August, he was so badly injured that he continued to be
bed-ridden and unable to talk about his experiences in the
facility. Another Suleimaniya resident claimed that the
Asayish arrested his family members without a warrant, and
provided the family no information about their location or
release date while they were in custody.

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NO ONE SEES THESE DETENTION FACILITIES
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6. (C) KRG Minister of Human Rights Yousif Mohammed Azziz
confirmed the existence of Asayish secret detention
facilities in a meeting August 29 (ref A). He indicated that
while the KRG Human Rights Ministry had inspection powers to
all other detention facilities in Kurdistan, Asayish
facilities were strictly off-limits. In a separate meeting

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August 29, human rights NGO representative Khanim Rahim
bemoaned the inability of her organization (Asuda) to visit
Asayish detention facilities. Asuda runs a women's shelter
and visits other detention facilities across Kurdistan to
provide legal and other services to women in need. Rahim
said she recently learned about the existence of these
facilities through a friend working in the KDP Asayish.
According to Rahim, the friend admitted that there were a
total of seven female detainees held in KDP Asayish detention
facilities, though Rahim was not allowed to learn the
locations of these facilities, nor the condition of these
detainees.

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COMMENT
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7. (C) Muhammed is a religious leader in Kirkuk and member of
the Kurdistan Islamic Group (KIG) party, which is part of the
Kurdish Alliance. He is also a graduate of the al-Imam
Aladam College which is associated with the Holy Shrine in
Baghdad's Qadamiya district. It is possible that Muhammed's
followers are targeted because of KRG suspicions that his
party is associated with Ansar al-Islam (a Kurdish Sunni
extremist group known to employ terrorist tactics). The
founder of KIG, Ali Bapir, was himself detained in 2003 by
Coalition forces. Despite this checkered reputation,
Muhammed's account of abusive "secret prisons" and extralegal
detention by Asayish are supported by numerous other
complaints we have received throughout the year from
unrelated sources.


8. (C) Interestingly, Muhammed's complaints come at the same
time as recent passage of KRG's new anti-terrorism
legislation (Law # 3 of 2006),guaranteeing all terrorism
suspects the right to a lawyer and the right not to be
tortured into confession (Articles 13 and 14). It is unclear
how these rights will be guaranteed without a watchdog
organization to visit the undisclosed detention facilities.
Post will continue to look into reports of abuses at Asayish
detention facilities.
SPECKHARD