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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Elroy who wrote (227813)	4/5/2005 2:12:11 AM
From: Elroy	Respond to of 1577893

Possible abuse in TV confession show studied Baghdad (Reuters) Iraq's Human Rights Ministry is investigating allegations of abuse in the making of a popular television series that shows insurgents confessing to crime, including rape, kidnapping and execution. Human Rights Minister Bakhtiar Ameen said the investigation focused on evidence of verbal abuse of suspects, but could be extended to include physical abuse and torture, accusations that have been levelled at Iraq's security forces. "Individuals have raised concerns after seeing verbal abuse of suspects, as well as bruises on their bodies. We are looking at all these TV shows right now and studying them from a human rights point of view. Things should be done in accordance with human rights standards and principles and we are going to make sure those norms are respected," Ameen told Reuters in an interview on Monday. Ameen said a report would be made to the interior and justice ministries after the investigation. The TV series, Terrorism in the Grip of Justice, airs almost nightly on Iraqiya, Iraq's US-funded national network, and shows men sitting before an interrogator, whose face is not shown, confessing to crimes in detail. Some defendants have appeared with cuts and bruises on their faces and what looks like bloodstains on their clothes. They have confessed to criminal and militant acts including kidnap, rape, the execution of hostages, planting bombs and contract murder, sometimes for as little as $10 (Dh36). Some have said they were acting on the orders of Syrian agents. Wide following The programme has been running for several weeks and has attracted a wide following. It has been credited with unmasking the insurgency by making it appear less intimidating, prompting more people to come forward with information. There has been a more than 20 per cent fall in insurgent attacks over the past two months, US officials say. But concerns have been raised about forced confessions, and family members have come forward to swear relatives have being wrongly accused or alleged victims are still alive. Ameen said while he was determined to ensure Iraq's security forces acted within the law, the government was also under pressure to show results against the insurgency. Many viewers are not content just to see insurgents confess, they want to see them executed too, he said. "We have inherited the legacy of a ruthless dictatorship and it's not going to go away overnight. It takes time and it takes resources in educating people ... It's not a bed of roses," said Ameen, a Kurd who was forced to flee Iraq during Saddam Hussain's regime. In a report released in January, the US-based rights group Human Rights Watch alleged systematic torture of detainees by Iraq's US trained security forces, denial of access to detainees by families and lawyers as well as other abuses. Earlier this year, Iraqi police were accused of torturing to death three members of a Shi'ite militia in Baghdad, government ministers have since apologised. Ameen has met representatives from the European Union, the United Nations and the Swiss and German governments for their help in training Iraqi police.