abumohammed25524
New Member
Women's Rights
• The rape of Iraqi women prisoners in the prisons of Abu Ghoreib and Buka is the most marked violation of women's rights. Many of these women committed suicide after being released because they could not live with the shame and disgrace they and their families were subjected to, and to find relief from the great psychological agony tormenting them. Many Iraqi prisoners asserted that Iraqi Forces locked up men and women together in the same cell, all of them naked, and that the screaming of women while being harassed and raped was heard.
One Iraqi woman, after being released from Abu Ghoreib, reported that her cell inmate was brought back into the cell and remained unconscious for two days. After regaining conscious, she told that she had been raped by U.S. soldiers more than 17 times. Her psychological state and her health situation gravely deteriorated in the following days, nearly causing her death.
Another woman prisoner in Abu Ghoreib committed suicide after she was raped in front of her husband, as her sister later testified. The prisoner had told her sister, that U.S. soldiers had burst into their home in search for her husband. When they could not find him, they imprisoned her instead. Hearing of the imprisonment of his wife, the husband turned himself in. He was put in a cell and was tied to the metal bars before his wife was brought in front of him. One U.S. soldier was tearing her by the hair, while another tore down her clothes, and a third raped her more than once, while her husband was screaming "Allahu Akbar". After this attack on her, she repeatedly asked her sister to help her commit suicide, since she could not live with this disgrace and would never be able to look her husband in the eyes again. She was arrested in December 2003 and released in May 2004.
A similar case was reported by a prisoner, who had witnessed how a young girl was raped in front of her father, who was tied up to the bars in cell 42 in Abu Ghoreib, so as to get the man to confess.
Another prisoner confirmed, that Iraqi women were shouting to their male inmates to kill them, to free them from the torture they were subjected to. He recognized among these women an acquaintance, a 35 year old woman, mother of 3 children. After she was released, she was killed by her brother to wash away the dishonor of the family.
Dr. Huda Al-Na'imi, professor at the Faculty of Political Sciences at the University of Baghdad, affirmed the feeling of loss and insecurity by family members as to how to deal with the victims of their families. An example to this is the story of a young man, whose sister was released from prison and she was pregnant. Being sure that his sister was a victim, but nevertheless being torn between the compassion and dishonor, he consulted a religious leader on what to do in this situation. The religious leader told him that he should save her life.
• Women family members of prisoners, searching and looking for their relatives (sons, fathers, brothers, husbands) are subjected to sexual harassments. It is reported that these women are being searched in a manner, which is not conform to the values and traditions of the Iraqi people. Further, these women are spending a lot of time looking for their relatives in various prisons, which forces them to stay away from their work places, homes and children.
The scandals of Abu Ghoreib and Buka prisons, which have become public, do not represent more than 10% of the actual crimes that had happened and which are still happening there. Though, the greatest crime of all is – as U.S. American documents and evidence shows - that these violations are being committed based on orders of the highest ranking officers, on head of them General Sanchez, and with the knowledge of the U.S. Minister of Defense.
• Cases of deliberate killings of women, such as the case of an Iraqi woman (wife of Jum'a Al-Dalemi) in "Al-Mahmoudiyah" area, who was murdered on the 24th of January 2005, when Soldiers of the Iraqi National Guard where about to kill her two sons for no obvious reason. The woman threw herself on her sons, so as to protect them, and was therefore killed by the soldiers, who afterwards also killed her two sons (Basem and Dia').
• During the battles of September 2004, 149 women in Fallujah were dishonored and the bodies of dead women were mutilated. Most of the bodies of the victims are buried in a mass grave in "Al-Sajar" area near Fallujah.
Although the U.S. Army admitted that the bodies are in this mass grave, they do not allow the relatives of the victims to transport the bodies to the local cemetery. The reason for this prohibition is that the U.S. Army fears the scandal in the press, when the mass grave is opened and the extent of the committed crimes becomes obvious.
Further, there is another area with a great heap of rubble, formed by the U.S. Army, as a consequence of clearing the city of all evidence of the crimes committed during the battles. In this heap, many bodies of civilians and fighters were found.
• The detention of underage women in prisons together with adult prisoners, and delaying their transfer to courts of justice, despite the danger that threatens these minors by being with adult criminals. Such is the case of two girls, 13 and 16 years of age, who were detained in a cell, together with 11 adult female prisoners in Al-Babel prison.
• The prolongation of detention periods of arrested women, as has happened to the following women in Al-Babel prison:
1) The detained (R. K.), who has been in detention for more than 4 months, together with her daughter (Z.K.) and her two children.
2) (A.A.F.) who has been accused of kidnapping her daughter, and who has been in arrest for more than 7 months now.
3) The accused (F.K.H.) has been in detention for more than 18 months, and her case has still not been submitted to court.
Regardless of the prisoners' assertion, that they are being well treated at the prison, Al-Babel prison lacks the most basic hygienic conditions and is not adequately constructed for the imprisonment of human beings.
• There are repeated cases, where women are taken hostages by the occupation forces, in order to find and to arrest their male relatives, who are being searched for by the U.S. Forces. In addition, the U.S. Army has lately enacted a Law, permitting the infantry of the naval forces in Al-Mosul to arrest the mothers, sisters and wives of Iraqi fighters, for the duration of the search, so that the suspects will turn themselves in. This information was confirmed by a Colonel of the Iraqi Army, who prefers to stay in anonymous.
These procedures were forbidden by the U.S. Army after complaints by the Ministry of Human Rights in Iraq, but are now in effect again. In one case, 4 girls less than 20 years old were arrested in their house in the "Somer" area.
A letter was left behind, in which the kidnappers threatened the safety of the girls, if their relatives did not turn themselves in. Furthermore, many of former prisoners of Abu Ghoreib assured that the torture of women and children were common practice to scare and force their relatives to reveal information or to confess the participation in military actions against U.S. Forces.
These kinds of procedures, bear the danger of increasing military actions against U.S. Forces, since the Iraqi people is known to be committed to religious and social traditions, and revenge to restore the honor and dignity of the victims families will be taken. All this leads to contra violence, enforcing the circle of violence.
• On the 27th of June 2005, the Council of the Governorate of Meesan, as well as organisations and other authorities declared they were boycotting any cooperation with the British troops because of the inhuman treatment the citizens of the governorate were subjected to. They referred to the case of inhuman treatment of a pregnant woman, which led to miscarriage, the arrest of a number of innocent citizens, and the offense and insult of government employees.
http://www.brusselstribunal.org/survey111105.htm
• The rape of Iraqi women prisoners in the prisons of Abu Ghoreib and Buka is the most marked violation of women's rights. Many of these women committed suicide after being released because they could not live with the shame and disgrace they and their families were subjected to, and to find relief from the great psychological agony tormenting them. Many Iraqi prisoners asserted that Iraqi Forces locked up men and women together in the same cell, all of them naked, and that the screaming of women while being harassed and raped was heard.
One Iraqi woman, after being released from Abu Ghoreib, reported that her cell inmate was brought back into the cell and remained unconscious for two days. After regaining conscious, she told that she had been raped by U.S. soldiers more than 17 times. Her psychological state and her health situation gravely deteriorated in the following days, nearly causing her death.
Another woman prisoner in Abu Ghoreib committed suicide after she was raped in front of her husband, as her sister later testified. The prisoner had told her sister, that U.S. soldiers had burst into their home in search for her husband. When they could not find him, they imprisoned her instead. Hearing of the imprisonment of his wife, the husband turned himself in. He was put in a cell and was tied to the metal bars before his wife was brought in front of him. One U.S. soldier was tearing her by the hair, while another tore down her clothes, and a third raped her more than once, while her husband was screaming "Allahu Akbar". After this attack on her, she repeatedly asked her sister to help her commit suicide, since she could not live with this disgrace and would never be able to look her husband in the eyes again. She was arrested in December 2003 and released in May 2004.
A similar case was reported by a prisoner, who had witnessed how a young girl was raped in front of her father, who was tied up to the bars in cell 42 in Abu Ghoreib, so as to get the man to confess.
Another prisoner confirmed, that Iraqi women were shouting to their male inmates to kill them, to free them from the torture they were subjected to. He recognized among these women an acquaintance, a 35 year old woman, mother of 3 children. After she was released, she was killed by her brother to wash away the dishonor of the family.
Dr. Huda Al-Na'imi, professor at the Faculty of Political Sciences at the University of Baghdad, affirmed the feeling of loss and insecurity by family members as to how to deal with the victims of their families. An example to this is the story of a young man, whose sister was released from prison and she was pregnant. Being sure that his sister was a victim, but nevertheless being torn between the compassion and dishonor, he consulted a religious leader on what to do in this situation. The religious leader told him that he should save her life.
• Women family members of prisoners, searching and looking for their relatives (sons, fathers, brothers, husbands) are subjected to sexual harassments. It is reported that these women are being searched in a manner, which is not conform to the values and traditions of the Iraqi people. Further, these women are spending a lot of time looking for their relatives in various prisons, which forces them to stay away from their work places, homes and children.
The scandals of Abu Ghoreib and Buka prisons, which have become public, do not represent more than 10% of the actual crimes that had happened and which are still happening there. Though, the greatest crime of all is – as U.S. American documents and evidence shows - that these violations are being committed based on orders of the highest ranking officers, on head of them General Sanchez, and with the knowledge of the U.S. Minister of Defense.
• Cases of deliberate killings of women, such as the case of an Iraqi woman (wife of Jum'a Al-Dalemi) in "Al-Mahmoudiyah" area, who was murdered on the 24th of January 2005, when Soldiers of the Iraqi National Guard where about to kill her two sons for no obvious reason. The woman threw herself on her sons, so as to protect them, and was therefore killed by the soldiers, who afterwards also killed her two sons (Basem and Dia').
• During the battles of September 2004, 149 women in Fallujah were dishonored and the bodies of dead women were mutilated. Most of the bodies of the victims are buried in a mass grave in "Al-Sajar" area near Fallujah.
Although the U.S. Army admitted that the bodies are in this mass grave, they do not allow the relatives of the victims to transport the bodies to the local cemetery. The reason for this prohibition is that the U.S. Army fears the scandal in the press, when the mass grave is opened and the extent of the committed crimes becomes obvious.
Further, there is another area with a great heap of rubble, formed by the U.S. Army, as a consequence of clearing the city of all evidence of the crimes committed during the battles. In this heap, many bodies of civilians and fighters were found.
• The detention of underage women in prisons together with adult prisoners, and delaying their transfer to courts of justice, despite the danger that threatens these minors by being with adult criminals. Such is the case of two girls, 13 and 16 years of age, who were detained in a cell, together with 11 adult female prisoners in Al-Babel prison.
• The prolongation of detention periods of arrested women, as has happened to the following women in Al-Babel prison:
1) The detained (R. K.), who has been in detention for more than 4 months, together with her daughter (Z.K.) and her two children.
2) (A.A.F.) who has been accused of kidnapping her daughter, and who has been in arrest for more than 7 months now.
3) The accused (F.K.H.) has been in detention for more than 18 months, and her case has still not been submitted to court.
Regardless of the prisoners' assertion, that they are being well treated at the prison, Al-Babel prison lacks the most basic hygienic conditions and is not adequately constructed for the imprisonment of human beings.
• There are repeated cases, where women are taken hostages by the occupation forces, in order to find and to arrest their male relatives, who are being searched for by the U.S. Forces. In addition, the U.S. Army has lately enacted a Law, permitting the infantry of the naval forces in Al-Mosul to arrest the mothers, sisters and wives of Iraqi fighters, for the duration of the search, so that the suspects will turn themselves in. This information was confirmed by a Colonel of the Iraqi Army, who prefers to stay in anonymous.
These procedures were forbidden by the U.S. Army after complaints by the Ministry of Human Rights in Iraq, but are now in effect again. In one case, 4 girls less than 20 years old were arrested in their house in the "Somer" area.
A letter was left behind, in which the kidnappers threatened the safety of the girls, if their relatives did not turn themselves in. Furthermore, many of former prisoners of Abu Ghoreib assured that the torture of women and children were common practice to scare and force their relatives to reveal information or to confess the participation in military actions against U.S. Forces.
These kinds of procedures, bear the danger of increasing military actions against U.S. Forces, since the Iraqi people is known to be committed to religious and social traditions, and revenge to restore the honor and dignity of the victims families will be taken. All this leads to contra violence, enforcing the circle of violence.
• On the 27th of June 2005, the Council of the Governorate of Meesan, as well as organisations and other authorities declared they were boycotting any cooperation with the British troops because of the inhuman treatment the citizens of the governorate were subjected to. They referred to the case of inhuman treatment of a pregnant woman, which led to miscarriage, the arrest of a number of innocent citizens, and the offense and insult of government employees.
http://www.brusselstribunal.org/survey111105.htm
