BAGHDAD: Thousands of people suspected of having ties to the Daesh group are facing widespread rights violations in Iraqi custody, Human Rights watch said Tuesday.
The New York-based rights group said some 20,000 people are believed to be in Iraqi custody on suspicion of ties to Daesh. Many are held in inhumane detention facilities and not granted due process, according to the watchdog’s 76-page report, based on information gathered in Baghdad and northern Iraq from November 2016 to July 2017.
Iraq’s Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi dismissed the report, saying much of its findings were “unverified” and that Human Rights Watch should devote more attention to the crimes committed by the extremists.
As Iraqi ground forces backed by the US-led coalition have slowly retaken nearly all of the territory once held by Daesh, thousands of men, women and children suspected of having ties to the group have been arrested and detained.
The prisoners have overwhelmed Iraq’s already weak judicial system.
Screening processes are flawed, many detainees are being held in inhumane conditions and suspects are largely being tried under broad counterterrorism laws with harsh sentences, the report said.
An innocent person wrongfully identified as an Daesh member in the screening process “may spend months in mass arbitrary detention during the course of their judicial investigation,” the group found.
Prosecuting Daesh suspects under Iraq’s counterterrorism laws is “easier,” Human Rights Watch said, as a court would only need to prove membership in Daesh, rather than establish that individual acts violated Iraqi criminal codes.
Under counterterrorism laws, Iraqi authorities can sentence people who worked as doctors or cooks within Daesh with the same harsh penalties — including death or life in prison — as Daesh members who carried out violent acts, the report said.
“This approach makes it less likely that the process will establish a more comprehensive judicial record of the crimes committed,” Human Rights Watch warned, ultimately depriving Daesh victims of justice and potentially undermining future attempts at reconciliation in Iraq.
Rights group: Daesh suspects face violations in Iraqi custody
Rights group: Daesh suspects face violations in Iraqi custody
Japanese prime minister praises Saudi Arabia’s role in addressing the Gaza crisis
- PM Ishiba made the remarks during a telephone summit with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman
- Ishiba stated that he would like to strengthen the strategic partnership between Japan and Saudi Arabia
TOKYO: Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba hailed “Saudi Arabia’s leadership on Gaza” and expressed his determination to continue working with the Kingdom to bring stability to the Middle East.
Ishiba made the remarks during a telephone summit with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Tuesday, during which he expressed his hope that Saudi Arabia would continue to play a leading role in stabilizing the global oil market.
The Foreign Ministry in Tokyo said the crown prince expressed his wish to deepen cooperation with Japan in various fields, including politics, economics, security, and potentially technology transfer and cultural exchange.
Ishiba said he would like Japan and Saudi Arabia to expand cooperation to areas including clean energy, advanced technology, and entertainment.
With 2025 marking the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, Ishiba reiterated his commitment to peace and stability in the region. He stated that he would like to strengthen the strategic partnership between Japan and Saudi Arabia and work even more closely together to promote these values. The crown prince also affirmed his commitment to these goals, stating that Saudi Arabia attaches great importance to its relations with Japan and welcomes further cooperation.
The Foreign Ministry added that both leaders shared their concerns about conflicts in the Middle East and the need for all parties involved to exercise maximum restraint. Ishiba said he appreciated Saudi Arabia’s leadership on Gaza, and the two leaders agreed to continue working closely together to achieve stability in the Middle East.
Syrian state media: Israel attacked town near Lebanon border
DAMASCUS: An Israeli strike hit a Syrian town near the border with Lebanon on Tuesday, Syrian state media said, less than a week after deadly strikes on the same area.
“An Israeli aggression targeted the industrial zone in Al-Qusayr” in Homs province, the official SANA news agency said. There was no immediate news of casualties or damage.
Since the beginning of the Syrian civil war in 2011, Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes in Syria mainly targeting army positions and Iran-backed fighters including from Hezbollah.
The Israeli military has intensified its strikes on Syria since it launched its war on Hezbollah in neighbouring Lebanon.
Israeli authorities rarely comment on the strikes, but have repeatedly said they will not allow arch-enemy Iran to expand its presence in Syria.
Health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says war death toll at 43,391
- The toll includes 17 deaths in the previous 24 hours
GAZA STRIP: The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said on Tuesday that at least 43,391 people have been killed in the year-old war between Israel and Palestinian militants.
The toll includes 17 deaths in the previous 24 hours, according to the ministry, which said 102,347 people have been wounded in the Gaza Strip since the war began when Hamas militants attacked Israel on October 7, 2023.
Greece says migrant arrivals rising in south-east islands
- At the end of October, several hundred migrants set up tents and cardboard houses outside the local government offices of the city of Rhodes, sparking anger among residents
- Rhodes mayor Alexandros Koliadis told Rodiaki that the island lacks the personnel, police officers and coast guard needed to register the arrivals before transferring them to camps
ATHENS: Some islands in the southeast of the Aegean sea, including Rhodes, are seeing an increase in migrants arriving by boat from Turkiye, Greek migration and asylum minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos said Tuesday.
“The southeast of the Aegean and the island of Rhodes are experiencing migratory pressure right now,” he said on public television station ERT, though he said the increase does not appear to be linked to rising tensions in the Middle East.
At the end of October, several hundred migrants set up tents and cardboard houses outside the local government offices of the city of Rhodes, sparking anger among residents and local authorities.
According to local media Rodiaki, more than 700 migrants arrived during the last week of October.
Rhodes mayor Alexandros Koliadis told Rodiaki that the island lacks the personnel, police officers and coast guard needed to register the arrivals before transferring them to camps on the mainland or in other islands.
Previously, Aegean islands further north such as Lesbos and Samos had received the brunt of migrants crossing from Turkish shores.
Crete, which has likewise seen an increase in arrivals from Libya, also needs to build facilities to process migrants.
Greece has seen a 25 percent increase this year in the number of people fleeing war and poverty, with a 30 percent increase alone to Rhodes and the south-east Aegean, according to the Migration Ministry.
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees says 48,158 arrivals have been recorded so far in 2024, of which around 42,000 arrived by boat and 6,000 by crossing the land frontier with Turkiye.
“The camps on the islands have an occupancy rate of 100 percent. But on the mainland they are only 55 percent full, which provides a margin in the event of an increase in arrivals on the islands,” Panagiotopoulos said.
Sudan files AU complaint against Chad over arms: minister
- Chad last month denied accusations that it was “amplifying the war in Sudan” by arming the RSF
PORT SUDAN: Sudan’s army-backed government on Tuesday accused neighboring Chad of supplying arms to rebel militias, likely referring to the paramilitary forces it is battling.
The northeast African country has been engulfed by war since April 2023, when fighting broke out between the regular army, led by de facto ruler Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) commanded by his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo.
Justice minister Muawiya Osman said Burhan’s administration had lodged the complaint against Chad at the African Union.
Speaking to reporters, including AFP, Osman said the government demanded compensation and accused Chad of “supplying arms to rebel militias” and causing “harm to Sudanese citizens.”
“We will present evidence to the relevant authorities,” he added from Port Sudan, where Burhan relocated after fighting spread to the capital, Khartoum.
Chad last month denied accusations that it was “amplifying the war in Sudan” by arming the RSF.
“We do not support any of the factions that are fighting on Sudanese territory — we are in favor of peace,” foreign minister and government spokesman Abderaman Koulamallah said at the time.
The United Nations has been using the Adre border crossing between the two countries to deliver humanitarian aid.
Sudan had initially agreed to keep the crossing open for three months, a period set to expire on November 15. Authorities in Khartoum have yet to decide whether to extend the arrangement.
The Sudanese war has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced more than 11 million, including 3.1 million who are now sheltering beyond the country’s borders.
