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Iraq HUMAN at a Crossroads RIGHTS Human Rights in Iraq Eight Years After the US-Led Invasion WATCH

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Iraq HUMAN at a Crossroads RIGHTS Human Rights in Iraq Eight Years After the US-Led Invasion WATCH Iraq HUMAN At a Crossroads RIGHTS Human Rights in Iraq Eight Years after the US-Led Invasion WATCH At a Crossroads Human Rights in Iraq Eight Years after the US-Led Invasion Copyright © 2010 Human Rights Watch All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America ISBN: 1-56432-736-1 Cover design by Rafael Jimenez Human Rights Watch 350 Fifth Avenue, 34th floor New York, NY 10118-3299 USA Tel: +1 212 290 4700, Fax: +1 212 736 1300 [email protected] Poststraße 4-5 10178 Berlin, Germany Tel: +49 30 2593 06-10, Fax: +49 30 2593 0629 [email protected] Avenue des Gaulois, 7 1040 Brussels, Belgium Tel: + 32 (2) 732 2009, Fax: + 32 (2) 732 0471 [email protected] 64-66 Rue de Lausanne 1202 Geneva, Switzerland Tel: +41 22 738 0481, Fax: +41 22 738 1791 [email protected] 2-12 Pentonville Road, 2nd Floor London N1 9HF, UK Tel: +44 20 7713 1995, Fax: +44 20 7713 1800 [email protected] 27 Rue de Lisbonne 75008 Paris, France Tel: +33 (1)43 59 55 35, Fax: +33 (1) 43 59 55 22 [email protected] 1630 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Suite 500 Washington, DC 20009 USA Tel: +1 202 612 4321, Fax: +1 202 612 4333 [email protected] Web Site Address: http://www.hrw.org February 2011 1-56432-736-1 At a Crossroads Human Rights in Iraq Eight Years after the US-Led Invasion Summary .................................................................................................................................... 1 Methodology .............................................................................................................................. 5 I. Rights of Women and Girls ...................................................................................................... 6 Background .......................................................................................................................... 6 Targeting Female Leaders and Activists ............................................................................... 10 Trafficking and Forced Prostitution .......................................................................................11 Penalizing Victims ........................................................................................................ 14 Government Response to Trafficking ............................................................................. 16 Family Violence ................................................................................................................... 18 Honor crimes ................................................................................................................ 19 Domestic violence ........................................................................................................ 20 Female-headed Households, Widows, and Other Vulnerable Women .................................. 22 International Standards Protecting the Rights of Women and Girls....................................... 25 National Standards Concerning the Rights of Women and Girls ........................................... 27 II. Freedom of Expression .......................................................................................................... 30 Background ........................................................................................................................ 31 Violence Against Journalists ................................................................................................ 32 Attacks by Unknown Armed Groups .............................................................................. 32 Violence linked to State and Political Party-Affiliated Forces .......................................... 34 Harassment, Threats, and Assaults against Journalists ........................................................ 37 Legal and Regulatory Barriers to Free Expression ................................................................. 39 Restrictions on Photography ......................................................................................... 39 Civil and Criminal Defamation Suits .............................................................................. 42 New Regulatory Barriers and Legislative Inaction........................................................... 43 International Standards Protecting Freedom of Expression .................................................. 44 National Standards on Freedom of Expression ..................................................................... 46 III. Torture of Detainees ............................................................................................................. 50 Background ........................................................................................................................ 51 Secret Facility at Muthanna Airport ...................................................................................... 54 Reliance on Confessions ..................................................................................................... 57 Government Inaction and Denials ........................................................................................ 59 International Standards Prohibiting Torture ........................................................................ 60 National Standards Prohibiting Torture ................................................................................ 61 IV. Marginalized Communities ................................................................................................. 62 Internally Displaced Persons ............................................................................................... 62 Religious and Ethnic Minorities ........................................................................................... 65 Sabian Mandaeans ....................................................................................................... 65 Chaldo-Assyrians ......................................................................................................... 68 Shabaks ....................................................................................................................... 71 Yazidis .......................................................................................................................... 72 Persons with Disabilities ..................................................................................................... 73 Physical Disabilities ...................................................................................................... 73 Invisible Impacts of War ................................................................................................ 76 International Standards Protecting the Rights of Persons with Disabilities ........................... 77 International Standards Protecting Minority Rights .............................................................. 79 National Standards Protecting the Rights of Minorities and Persons with Disabilities .......... 81 Recommendations ................................................................................................................... 82 To the Government of Iraq ................................................................................................... 82 To the Governments of the United States and the United Kingdom ...................................... 84 Acknowledgments ..................................................................................................................... 85 Annex....................................................................................................................................... 86 At a Crossroads 2 Summary Almost eight years after US-led forces invaded Iraq, the country’s transition to a functioning and sustainable democracy built on rule of law is far from accomplished. The rights of Iraq’s most vulnerable citizens, especially women and detainees, are violated with impunity, and those who would expose official malfeasance or abuses by armed groups do so at enormous risk. Iraq’s future as a society based on respect for fundamental human rights depends in large part on whether Iraqi authorities will adequately defend those rights and establish a credible national criminal justice system embodying international standards with respect to torture, free expression, and violence against women and other vulnerable sectors of society. The 2003 invasion and its resulting chaos have exacted an enormous toll on Iraq’s citizens. Over the past eight years, violence has claimed tens of thousands of Iraqi lives and millions continue to suffer from the effects of insecurity. Iraq has made some recent progress as it has pulled itself away from the civil strife that engulfed the country, especially in 2006 and 2007. But terror attacks increased again in the run-up to the March 2010 parliamentary elections and did not abate in the months that followed. Only in November, eight months after those elections, did Iraq’s political parties finally agree to form a new coalition government– ending the political crisis that has stunted progress on security and other fronts, including human rights. Human Rights Watch conducted on-the-ground research in April 2010, visiting seven cities across Iraq and interviewing 178 activists, lawyers, journalists, religious leaders, detainees (former and current), security officers, victims of violence, and ordinary Iraqis. We found that, beyond the continuing violence and crimes associated with it, human rights abuses are commonplace. This report presents those findings regarding violations of the rights of women and other vulnerable populations, the right to
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