Amnesty International's 2004 Report on Iraq : Excerpts

Human rights concerns during the war

Hundreds of civilians were killed during the war by US and UK forces. Some were victims of cluster bombs, others were killed in disputed circumstances. Unexploded bomblets from cluster bombs posed a threat to civilians, particularly children.

• On 31 March US soldiers opened fire on an unidentified vehicle as it approached a US checkpoint near al-Najaf. Ten of the 15 passengers, including five children, were killed.
• On 1 April at least 33 civilians, including many children, were reportedly killed and around 300 injured in US attacks allegedly involving cluster bombs on the town of al-Hilla, southeast of Baghdad.

Human Rights Abuse After the War

Excessive use of force
Scores of civilians were killed apparently as a result of excessive use of force by US troops or were shot dead in disputed circumstances.

• US troops shot dead or injured scores of Iraqi demonstrators in several incidents. For example, seven people were reportedly shot dead and dozens injured in Mosul on 15 April; at least 15 people were shot dead, including children, and more than 70 injured in Fallujah on 29 April; and two demonstrators were shot dead outside the Republican Palace in Baghdad on 18 June.
• On 14 May, two US armed vehicles broke through the perimeter wall of the home of Sa'adi Suleiman Ibrahim al-'Ubaydi in Ramadi. Soldiers beat him with rifle butts and then shot him dead as he tried to flee.
• US forces shot 12-year-old Mohammad al-Kubaisi as they carried out search operations around his house in the Hay al-Jihad area in Baghdad on 26 June. He was carrying the family bedding to the roof of his house when he was shot. Neighbours tried to rush him by car to the nearby hospital, but US soldiers stopped them and ordered them to go back. By the time they reached his home, Mohammad al-Kubaisi was dead. CPA officials told AI delegates in July that Mohammad al-Kubaisi was carrying a gun when he was killed.
• On 17 September a 14-year-old boy was killed and six people were injured when US troops opened fire at a wedding party in Fallujah. The soldiers reportedly believed they were under attack when shots were fired in the air in celebration.
• On 23 September, three farmers, 'Ali Khalaf, Sa'adi Faqri and Salem Khalil, were killed and three others injured when US troops opened a barrage of gunfire reportedly lasting for at least an hour in the village of al-Jisr near Fallujah. A US military official stated that the troops came under attack but this was vehemently denied by relatives of the dead. Later that day, US military officials reportedly went to the farmhouse, took photographs and apologized to the family.

Incommunicado detention
People held in prisons and detention centres run by Coalition forces – such as Camp Cropper in Baghdad International Airport (which closed in October), Abu Ghraib Prison and the detention centres in Habbaniya Airport and Um Qasr – were invariably denied access to family or lawyers and any form of judicial review of their detention. Some were held for weeks or months; others appeared to be held indefinitely.

Torture or ill-treatment
Torture or other ill-treatment by Coalition forces was frequently reported. Detainees suffered extreme heat while housed in tents and were supplied with insufficient water, inadequate washing facilities, open trenches for toilets, no change of clothes, and no books, newspapers, radios or writing materials. Detainees were routinely subjected to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment during arrest and the first 24 hours of detention. Plastic handcuffs used by US troops caused detainees unnecessary pain. Former detainees stated they were forced to lie face down on the ground, were held handcuffed, hooded or blindfolded, and were not given water or food or allowed to go to the toilet. Allegations of torture and ill-treatment by US and UK troops during interrogation were received. Methods reported included prolonged sleep deprivation; prolonged restraint in painful positions, sometimes combined with exposure to loud music; prolonged hooding; and exposure to bright lights. There were frequent reports of abuses by US forces during house searches, including allegations of looting and wanton destruction of property. Virtually none of the allegations of torture or ill-treatment was adequately investigated.

• Abdallah Khudhran al-Shamran, a Saudi Arabian national, was arrested in al-Rutba in early April by US and allied Iraqi forces while traveling from Syria to Baghdad. On reaching an unknown site, he said he was beaten, given electric shocks, suspended by his legs, had his penis tied and was subjected to sleep deprivation. He was held there for four days before being transferred to a camp hospital in Um Qasr. He was then interrogated and released without money or passport. He approached a British soldier, whereupon he was taken to another place of detention, then transferred to a military field hospital and again interrogated and tortured. This time torture methods included prolonged exposure in the sun, being locked in a container, and being threatened with execution.
• Nine Iraqis arrested on 14 September by the British military in Basra were reportedly tortured. The men all worked for a hotel in Basra where weapons were reported to have been found. Baha' al-Maliki, the hotel's receptionist, died in custody three days later; his body was reportedly severely bruised and covered in blood. Kefah Taha was admitted to hospital in critical condition, suffering renal failure and severe bruising.