An account of mistreatment of girls and boys in
Iraqi prisons:
“Undressing, blows and cold water”
Internal UNICEF report: USA intern children for
an indefinite time without legal process
MAINZ. According to inquiries undertaken by the
ARD political magazine REPORT MAINZ, indications increase that, within Iraqi
prisons, US soldiers even mistreated children and youngsters. Two different
sources independently recorded the inhuman treatment of imprisoned minors within the premises of
the scandalous prison Abu Ghreib, according to REPORT MAINZ.
Samuel Provance, sergeant of the military
secret service, and who was stationed at Abu Ghreib, in an exclusive interview
with REPORT MAINZ reported that US interrogation specialists importuned a girl
inside her cell. Military police did not intervene until the 15 to 16 year odl
girl was half naked.
According to Provance, a 16 year old boy was
showered with water and then driven through the cold (night). Afterwards they
“smeared” the boy “with mud” and presented him to his father who was prisoned
as well. “After he saw his son in such condition his heart broke”, says
Provance. “He cried and promised to tell everything he knew”.
A reporter with the Arab TV station Al-Jazeera,
Suhaib Badr-Addin Al-Baz, himself prisoned for 74 days at Abu Ghreib, told
REPORT MAINZ, how a 12 year old girl was knocked around by US soldiers. The
Journalist was the first to inform about a prison camp for children. “When they
brought me from the cell into the camp, there was an independent camp for
children, young, below puberty. For sure there were hundreds of children in
that camp.”
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)
acknowleged the imprisonment of Iraqi children through foreign military
personnell. REPORT MAINZ has available an internal report of the Children’s
Fund, from which it becomes apparent that the occupation forces hold Iraqi
children as prisoners of war in internment custody. Verbatim it says in the yet
undisclosed report, dated June 2004: “Children, which were arrested for reasons
of alleged activities against the occupation forces in Basra and Kerbala, were
routinely handed over to an internment custody in Um Quasr, according to
reports. The categorisation of such children as “internments”is alarming, as it
means indetermined custody without contact to the family, the prospect of a
process or trial.”
Additionally the UNICEF document mentiones a
new established prison camp for children in Baghdad. In July 2003 UNICEF
applied for a visit of this installation. However, UNICEF was barred from
entering. Says the report: “Insufficient security within the premises of this
prison camp” has banned independent observers “since December 2003”.
Also the International Committee of the Red
Cross (ICRC) confirms the internment of children and youngsters through the
coalition forces; among others in the infamous torture prison of Abu Ghreib.
Florian Westphal, speaker of the ICRC in Geneva, tild REPORT MAINZ: “Between
January and May this year we registered 107 children, and this in the wake of
19 visits on six different prison premises. Here it needs to be emphasised that
these are prison compounds who really are controlled by the coalition forces.”
The number of prisoned children may well be higher than this.
According to the internal UNICEF report the
Children’s Fund “via a variety of channels” tries to find out more in regard to
the internment conditions of childrens, and “to ensure that their rights do not
get infringed”.
The British Ministry of Defence informed REPORT
MAINZ not to keep any imprisoned children in Iraq at this time. The US Ministry
of Defence until now did not show any reaction towards a submitted request.
The Human Rights Organisation Amnesty
International in REPORT MAINZ demands clarification about internments of
children. Barbara Lochbihler, general secretary of the German section,
declared: “The US government has to reply to this report. It has to provide
precise information: How old are the children, what are the reasons for
internment, what were the circumstances of them being taken prisoners, and
whether children were subjected to torture and mistreatment.”
Barbara Lochbihler further: “The report is
dated June 2004 and what is infuriating is that those US persons in charge and
the governments seem not to have taken it up in earnest to throw light on such
incidents. (...) And here we even do not know the names of the children, how
many children we talk about. Independent inspections are unwanted. This is scandalous.”
Also the internal UNICEF document displays
severe criticism towards the practice of internment by the occupation forces.
Verbatim it says: “The perceived unjustified internment of male Iraqis,
including minors, on suspicion of activities against the occupation forces, has
become a major reason for the growing frustration among male youngsters and a
potential for radicalisation among this part of the population.”
