Sunday, July 18, 2004

Iraq's child detainees

Amnesty International (AI) complained that it had been "refused access" to enter Coalition detention centres, except for a brief visit to one in Mosul, in northern Iraq. A researcher at the international watchdog Human Rights Watch (HRW) also said workers did not have access to detained children. Clarisa Bencomo, the researcher, wondered if the children were being kept in poor or unsafe conditions.
Occupation Watch article

I think the answer to that is, yes.

More than 150 children ranging in age from nine to 18 are held there on any given day, both those convicted of crimes and those awaiting trial, Wali Jaleel Jabar, the warden at the detention centre, told IRIN. Families can visit the children once a week, Jabar said.

Another 58 children are currently being held as "security detainees" at Abu Ghraib prison and at Camp Bucca, US Lt-Col Barry Johnson, a spokesman for the Office of the Deputy Commanding General for Detainee Operations, told IRIN.

Camp Bucca.

Children are "security" detainees?

"By definition, a security detainee is someone suspected of threatening the security of the state or occupying power."
Source

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