AMBASSADOR HILL AND MINISTER OF JUSTICE DARA VISIT

C O N F I D E N T I A L BAGHDAD 002293


E.O. 12958: DECL: 25 AUG 2010
TAGS: SOCI PGOV PHUM KJUS IZ
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR HILL AND MINISTER OF JUSTICE DARA VISIT
RUSAFA PRISON COMPLEX (U)


1. (U) SUMMARY: On August 12, Ambassador Hill toured the
Rusafa Prison Complex with Minister of Justice Dara Noor
Al-Deen Baha, Al-Deen. Minister Dara hosted the tour to
assess the conditions and treatment of detainees, and to show
Ambassador Hill the facility and operation. Ambassador Hill
and Minister Dara visited the records office, the temporary
intake holding compound, the medical and dental facilities, a
tent compound, and the on-site legal defense clinic. While
at the clinic, Minister Dara and Ambassador Hill met with
several of the Iraqi defense attorneys working at the clinic
and discussed the procedures and challenges of preparing
detainee cases for review and judicial determination.


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Portrait of the Facility
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2. (U) The Rusafa Prison Complex (RPC) is the largest
pretrial intake detention facility in Iraq. This Ministry of
Justice detention facility is the headquarters of the Iraqi
Corrections Service (ICS) and is operated by trained ICS
guards and executive management staff. It has a capacity to
house, care for, and feed 6,712 detainees, with an emergency
capacity of 6,935. On the day of the visit, the detainee
population stood at 6,758. A portion of the RPC was built in
July 2007 as a tent-housing detention compound intended to
temporarily accommodate the anticipated growth of a pretrial
detainee population during the operational surge of US
military forces. Due to its close proximity to Iraqi courts,
RPC has continued to operate beyond its intended temporary
term of use and now serves as the largest GOI detainee intake
facility. USG corrections advisors, supervised and managed
by the International Criminal Investigative and Training
Assistance Program (ICITAP) and funded by the Bureau of
International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) are
assigned to RPC and other MOJ detention facilities, and
provide correctional oversight, training, and mentoring to
the ICS management and staff.


3. (U) Minister Dara and Ambassador Hill began the tour
at the RPC records clinic. ICS and ICITAP staff detailed the
intake policies and procedures conducted on every detainee
brought into RPC for custody. This briefing provided an
overview of the accountability log that registers intake and
subsequent movement on every detainee, and the computerized
database that captures key identifying information on each
detainee (photograph, documented name identification, and
bio-metric fingerprint and iris scan identification). A
paper file is also created on each detainee to enhance
facility operations, detainee treatment and accountability,
and record-keeping.


4. (U) Minister Dara and Ambassador Hill then visited RPC
Compound 5, which serves as the initial pretrial intake cell
for newly arriving detainees. Detainees are housed in this
facility for up to 3 weeks in order to receive initial
medical/dental screening and evaluation, and to document
their alleged offenses. When this data is compiled,
detainees are then assigned to designated tent compounds
pending further case throughput and judicial determinations.


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Health and Legal Services
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5. (U) The Minister and Ambassador made a brief visit to
the tent compounds and then toured the RPC medical and dental
clinic. Minister Dara explained that there are only two
Ministry of Health (MOH) physicians assigned to RPC, and
these physicians are also detailed to other detention
facilities and not exclusively dedicated to RPC. The clinic
Qfacilities and not exclusively dedicated to RPC. The clinic
tour visited the pharmacy, the medical records section, the
medical laboratory, x-ray room, medical exam rooms, and
dental clinic.


6. (C) The Minister and the Ambassador visited the Iraqi
legal defense clinic on RPC grounds as the final stop on
their tour. They were met by Karim Souadi Al-Lami, the
clinic director, who explained the function and
responsibility of the clinic, highlighted client visit
statistics, outlined their strategy on how to provide legal
services to the RPC detainee population, and discussed the
procedures and challenges of preparing detainee cases for
review and judicial determination. Mr. Karim explained their
efforts to nudge cases through the system but acknowledged
that it will take many years for the court to process the
backlog of cases, particularly as Coalition Forces and the
Iraqi Ministry of Defense (MOD) continue to transfer
additional detainees to the MOJ. In discussions at the
clinic, the Minister of Justice and the legal clinic director
agreed that focus should be placed on facilitating and
gathering the necessary information for the oldest case files
in order to ensure that detainees who had been awaiting court
dates the longest ) some languishing as long as six years )
were processed first. The Ambassador said he was encouraged
to hear this development and asked representatives from the
MNF-I Law and Order Task Force (LAOTF) on site to follow up
and report to him on the progress of this initiative.


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Dara: ICITAP Help Essential
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7. (U) Before departing the RPC, Minister Dara took the
opportunity to highlight the valuable service and support
provided to the ICS by ICITAP correctional advisors.
Minister Dara noted that he prepared and forwarded a
diplomatic note to Ambassador Hill documenting the
contributions of ICITAP advisors and the need for their
continued presence in ICS detention facilities. Minister
Dara emphasized that ICITAP advisors are essential at
detention facilities to further develop corrections expertise
within the ICS and to train new Iraqi Corrections Officers on
human rights standards and procedures at this critical time.
The Ambassador praised the progress made by the MOJ and
appreciation for the Minister,s recognition of US
assistance, including the Minister,s specific reference to
ICITAP.


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Comment
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8. (C) Overall, the conditions of confinement at
the prison were compliant with international human rights
standards, and Minister Dara seems diligent and focused on
the difficult problems confronting him. Minister Dara
expressed his desire to close the tent compounds but said he
could not financially afford to do so presently. Treatment
of detainees, which does not rely on financial resources, was
good, and the training and mentoring by ICITAP advisors have
played a positive role. However, the MOJ continues to face
new challenges with the influx of detainees transferred from
Coalition and MOD custody, and continued assistance is needed
to help them through this transition period.

FORD