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. -------------- Portrait of the Facility -------------- ¶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. -------------- Health and Legal Services -------------- ¶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. -------------- Dara: ICITAP Help Essential -------------- ¶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. -------------- Comment -------------- ¶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