KHADHAMIYA WOMEN'S PRISON: NO SIGNS OF ABUSE, BUT

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 03 BAGHDAD 002255 SIPDIS NOFORN SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/07/2017 TAGS: PHUM KDEM PGOV PINR KJUS KWMN IZ IS SUBJECT: KHADHAMIYA WOMEN'S PRISON: NO SIGNS OF ABUSE, BUT SERVICES LACKING REF: A) FBI IIR 4 201 3817 07 B) BAGHDAD 0001 C) BAGHDAD 2012 D) BAGHDAD 1378 E) BAGHDAD 1584 Classified By: DEPUTY POLITICAL COUNSELOR ROBERT GILCHRIST FOR REASONS 1.4 (B,D). ¶1. (S/NF) SUMMARY: On July 3, PolOff and representatives from the Department of Justice's (DOJ) International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Program (ICITAP) found no evidence of torture or rape during an unannounced visit to the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) Khadhamiya Women's Prison. It was the first visit by DOJ ICITAP officials in approximately a month after a source alleged that Jaysh al-Mahdi (JAM) had infiltrated the prison and was torturing, raping, and killing inmates and prison staff onsite and offsite (ref A). Numerous inmates within the predominantly Shiite prison population, including two Iraqi-born, Israeli citizens held since December 2006, uniformly reported that they had not been abused, but complained about the impact of scarce electricity on the prison's water supply. Members of a Ministry of Human Rights (MoHR) inspection team, also present in the prison on July 3, told PolOff that they visit the prison monthly. END SUMMARY. -------------- INMATES INSIST NO TORTURE OR RAPE -------------- ¶2. (S/NF) During an unannounced visit on July 3 to the MOJ's Khadhamiya Women's Prison PolOff and DOJ ICITAP representatives performed a walkthrough of the entire prison complex and spoke to numerous inmates who insisted they were neither tortured nor raped at the facility, as a source with direct access had reported. Out of sight of prison staff and other inmates, one inmate "Naja'a" (strictly protect) said she would be released in 30 days, and she had been treated well throughout her entire prison term, which began in 2003. She said that the warden had allowed her to phone her brother who lives in Lebanon, and sometimes family members visit her on Friday -- the visitation day. ¶3. (S) Also out of sight of prison staff and other inmates, Hamzia Jumah Muhamad Amin Yaacov Baswari (aka: Rosa Baswari) and Wafa Muhamad Amin Yaacov Amin Basrawi (aka: Iris Basrawi) -- two Iraqi born, Israeli citizens, imprisoned at Khadhamiya since December 2006 after being arrested while visiting Iraq -- stated that the staff treat inmates "very nicely" and there was "no abuse whatsoever." Hamzia said she is a Muslim, who moved to Israel in 1977, but her husband had been Jewish and all of her children are Jewish. Hamzia, who said she is 63 years old and is Wafa's mother, complained that she needs money for medicine, and said during the last three days there was no electricity in the prison and very little water. She also passed PolOff a note for DOJ ICITAP advisors that asked for the "Ambassador to do anything about my case," and said that she had been able to phone a son, who lives in Israel, in January. (Note: Post has previously contacted the Israeli government concerning the women's case, which was referred to the Central Criminal Court of Iraq, and continues to monitor their condition. They were arrested and charged with entry into a restricted area in November 2006 after Iraqi police reportedly observed them taking photographs from their hotel window in Baghdad. End note.) -------------- --- INMATES AND WARDENS COMPLAIN OF LACK OF SERVICES -------------- --- ¶4. (C) All inmates that PolOff spoke to in the prison said that they were not physically abused, but they consistently complained about the heat and lack of electricity within the building. One woman criticized the poor quality and quantity of the meals, which she said consisted largely of "cheese and tea" three to four times a day. ¶5. (C) Prison Warden Faiza and Deputy Warden Haider Zedan complained that the prison's number one problem is the lack of diesel fuel to run the prison's one working generator out of four. They noted that the MOJ approved generator repairs four months ago, but the actual repairs had not yet been made. Warden Faiza said that with the MOJ's knowledge, the prison acquires diesel fuel on the black market. She said the resulting electrical shortage not only prevents the prison's water pumps from working, but also keeps inmates from conducting their main vocational activity -- sewing security guard vests in the prison's sewing room. The wardens also showed DOJ ICITAP representatives samples of 100 BAGHDAD 00002255 002 OF 003 vests that inmates had made before an electrical outage began during the previous week. Deputy Warden Zedan said that the prison needs a generator dedicated to the sewing room, and the MOJ should petition the Ministry of Oil for a larger fuel allocation. He stated it was difficult for the staff to quell the inmates' anger over the lack of services, and ideally, the prison would have a tank to hold fuel for the generators. -------------- REGULAR HUMAN RIGHTS INSPECTIONS AND VISITORS -------------- ¶6. (C) During a walkthrough of the entire prison complex, PolOff encountered three female members of a MoHR inspection team sitting with inmates on their bunks in one of the cells. One inspector said that her team was studying how violence causes women to become criminals, and around four months ago, her team began visiting the prison monthly. She said that the inmates did not complain of torture or rape, but of the heat and the need for more supplies like medicine and detergent. She added that her team was free to move unrestricted to any part of the prison. The inspector stated that Minister of Human Rights Wijdan Salim reads and has many comments about their reports; however, she was uncertain of any actions taken in response to their findings. ¶7. (C) In a separate conversation with PolOff, the inmate Naja'a (strictly protect) said that throughout her imprisonment, representatives from various governmental and non-governmental groups, such as the Arab League, Sunni Deputy Prime Minister (PM) Zowbaie, and women's rights NGOs have regularly visited the prison. Naja'a said after Deputy PM Zowbaie's visit in 2006, he gifted food to the inmates in three installments over a month-long period and donated 10 million Iraqi dinars (approximately 10,000 USD) to the prison. -------------- -- PRISON BELOW CAPACITY, INMATES PRIMARILY SHIITE -------------- -- ¶8. (SBU) According to Warden Faiza, on July 3, the Khadhamiya Women's Prison -- with a capacity of 183 -- had a population of 173, with 172 women present, since one woman was hospitalized with a terminal illness. Of the 154 adults, 93 were convicted and 61 were awaiting trial. Of the 19 juveniles, held under an agreement with the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, 9 were convicted and 10 were awaiting trial. There were also 15 babies accompanying their mothers. ¶9. (C) The inmate Naja'a (strictly protect) told PolOff that the prison population is primarily Shiite -- with only 12 Sunnis and 5 Christians. (Note: Iraqi men's prison populations are, in contrast, predominantly Sunni (ref C). End Note.) ¶10. (C) When asked whether inmates were proceeding to trial regularly, both Warden Faiza and Deputy Warden Zedan insisted that they were only prison-keepers and they do not interfere with cases, which are the MOJ's responsibility. When pressed, Warden Faiza said that cases were proceeding to trial and inmates sometimes were released. (Note: Khadhamiya Women's Prison is holding death row inmates Wassan Talib, Zaineb Fadhil, Liqa Omar, and Samar Saed Abdullah, whose death sentences received international media coverage in March. A CNN interview with Samar Saed Abdullah was broadcasted in May. End note.) -------------- COMMENT -------------- ¶11. (C) During the July 3 visit to Khadhamiya Women's Prison, PolOff observed no evidence supporting allegations of torture, rape, or killing at the facility itself. Prisoners did not comment about abuse occurring offsite. Despite prior reports of increasing JAM infiltration within the MOJ, particularly within the Iraqi Correction Services (ICS), which manages the ministry's prisons, the onsite treatment of inmates appeared to be humane (ref B). Prisoners appeared adequately nourished, and there were individual beds for each prisoner. The physical plant and treatment of inmates at the MOJ Khadhamiya Women's Prison appeared much better than the crowded conditions and signs of physical abuse PolOff observed at men's detention centers operated by the Ministry BAGHDAD 00002255 003 OF 003 of Interior and the Ministry of Defense within the last several months (ref D and E). Post will press MOJ ICS officials to repair the prison's generators to help address the shortages plaguing the power grid in the Khadhamiya district of Baghdad, where the prison is located. END COMMENT. CROCKER