Citizen G'kar: Musings on Earth

June 16, 2006

Shiite Militias Control Iraqi Prisons

Shiite Militias control Iraqi Prisons still in Iraqi hands apparently due to the past dominance of the Interior Ministry by Badr Corps militiamen. This is a compelling sign that civii war has engulfed the country and the government has little hope of curtailing it. The militias and the insurgents run the country outside of the Green Zone.
WaPo
Iraq's prison system is overrun with Shiite Muslim militiamen who have freed fellow militia members convicted of major crimes and executed Sunni Arab inmates, the country's deputy justice minister said in an interview this week.


"We cannot control the prisons. It's as simple as that," said the deputy minister, Pusho Ibrahim Ali Daza Yei, an ethnic Kurd. "Our jails are infiltrated by the militias from top to bottom, from Basra to Baghdad."
U.S. officials said months ago that they planned to turn over Baghdad's Abu Ghraib prison and three other American-run facilities to the Iraqi government, but the handoff has been repeatedly pushed back. Gardner has said he will not authorize the transfers until he is convinced that standards of inmate treatment and security match those maintained in U.S.-run facilities.


"We will not transfer the facilities and legal custody of the detainees until each respective facility and the Iraqi Corrections system have demonstrated the ability to maintain the required standards, especially in the areas of care and custody," Gardner said in a written response to questions. "We fully recognize that there are significant challenges that must be overcome but believe that we will be able to address these as we move through 2006 into 2007."

2 comments:

rita said...

this is quite unreal what do you feel
Iraqi Army Begins Security Crackdown in Baghdad

Dave Marco said...

I've heard that the "crackdown" is more a propaganda move. The rumor is that actual number of troops on the ground in Bagdad has not changed. I don't have confirmation.