Human rights in post-invasion Iraq

Human rights in post-invasion Iraq have been the subject of concerns and controversies since the 2003 invasion. Concerns have been expressed about conduct by insurgents, the U.S.-led coalition forces and the Iraqi government. The U.S. is investigating several allegations of violations of international and internal standards of conduct in isolated incidents by its own forces and contractors. The UK is also conducting investigations of alleged human rights abuses by its forces. War crime tribunals and criminal prosecution of the numerous crimes by insurgents are likely years away.

Human rights abuses by insurgents

Abuses of Human Rights conducted by, or alleged to have been conducted by, Iraq-based insurgents and/or terrorists include:

August 2003

*Bombing of the U.N. headquarters in Baghdad in August 2003 which killed the top U.N. representative in Iraq, 55-year-old Vieira de Mello, a Brazilian, who was also the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. [ [http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/features/jan-june06/iraq_6-12.html NewsHour Extra: Who Are the Iraq Insurgents? - June 12, 2006] ] 22 UN staff members were killed and more than 100 injured in the explosion. The dead also included Nadia Younes, former Executive Director at World Health Organization in charge of External Relations and Governing Bodies. The terrorist attack was condemned by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and denounced by the UN security council. [cite web|url=http://www.un.org/apps/news/infocusRel.asp?infocusID=82&Body=xxxxxx&Body1= |title=UN News Centre News Focus: Dark day for UN |publisher=Un.org |date= |accessdate=2008-10-05]

June 2004

South Korean translator Kim Sun-il beheaded by followers of al-Zarqawi.cite web|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/iraq/hostages.html#killed |title=CBC News Indepth: Iraq |publisher=Cbc.ca |date= |accessdate=2008-10-05]

July 2004

Tawhid and Jihad behead Bulgarian truck drivers Ivaylo Kepov and Georgi Lazov. Al-Jazeera broadcast the videotape containing the killing, but said the portion with the actual killing was too graphic to broadcast. [ [http://www.cbc.ca/story/world/national/2004/07/13/bulgarian_iraq040713.html ] dead link|date=October 2008]

December 2004

Italian photographer, 52 year old Salvatore Santoro, beheaded in a video. Islamic Movement of Iraqi Mujahedeen claimed responsibility.

February 2005

Al-Iraqiya TV (Iraq) aired transcripts of confessions by Syrian intelligence officer Anas Ahmad Al-Issa and Iraqi terrorist Shihab Al-Sab'awi concerning their booby-trap operations, explosions, kidnappings, assassinations, and details of beheading training in Syria. [ [http://www.memritv.org/Transcript.asp?P1=571 ] dead link|date=October 2008]

July 2005

Egyptian and Algerian envoys.

*Two Algerian Diplomats were reported to have been killed by Al-Qaida in Iraq. Al-Qaeda in Iraq issued an Internet statement saying it killed two kidnapped Algerian diplomats, Ali Belaroussi and Azzedine Belkadi. “The court of al-Qaeda in Iraq has decided to carry out God’s verdict against the two diplomats from the apostate Algerian government ... and ordered to kill them,” said the statement, which was signed by Abu Maysara al-Iraqi, the al-Qaeda spokesman. [cite web|url=https://freeinternetpress.com/story.php?sid=4107 |title=Free Internet Press - Uncensored News for Real People |publisher=Freeinternetpress.com |date= |accessdate=2008-10-05]

*Egyptian Diplomat by Al-Quaida was reported to have been killed. Al-Qaida in Iraq posted on a web forum a statement that it killed Egyptian diplomat al-Sherif. Top Sunni cleric Mohamed Sayed Tantawi condemned the killing as a "crime against religion, morality and humanity and a crime that goes against honour and chivalry". [cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4660909.stm |title=BBC NEWS Middle East Captors kill Egypt envoy to Iraq |publisher=News.bbc.co.uk |date=Last Updated: |accessdate=2008-10-05]

February 2006

The Al Askari Mosque bombing occurred on February 22, 2006 at approximately 6:55am local time (0355 UTC) at the Al Askari Mosque — one of the holiest sites in Shi'a Islam — in the Iraqi city of Samarra, some 100 km (60 miles) northwest of Baghdad. Although no injuries occurred in the blast, the bombing resulted in violence over the following days. Over 100 dead bodies with bullet holes were found on February 23, and at least 165 [cite web | title=Muslim Clerics Call for an End to Iraqi Rioting | work=New York Times | url=http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/25/international/middleeast/25iraq.html | accessdate = 2006-02-24] people are thought to have been killed.

June 2006

Video of the killing of four Russian diplomats kidnapped in Iraq appear on the Internet. A group called the Mujahideen Shura Council released the hostage video. [cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/5118702.stm |title=BBC NEWS Middle East Russian diplomat deaths confirmed |publisher=News.bbc.co.uk |date=Last Updated: |accessdate=2008-10-05]

July 2006

Anba' Al Iraq News agency, Writers without Borders Organisation condemn the imprisonment of its staff member, Mr. Husain E. Khadir who was in charge of covering documentaries about the type of threats Kurdistan Federal region imposes to its Neighboring countries. Delegation of Human Rights Watch (HRW) released reports about torture in Iraq and repression of human rights and freedom of expression. HRW interviewed several detaineed writers and journalists to document such violation. [17] [18] Mr. Khadir was detained in Karkuk then moved to Arbil where Human Rights Watch (HRW) visited him in one of the detention places. Last year in Baghdad, the same writer suffered even worse when he escaped from Shiia militia, who seized his house and threw his family in the streets, which was considered as a serious threat directed against his life. The move is widely exercised in Iraq in a retaliation against human rights activists, journalists and writers who express critics to the Iraqi government and Shiia coalition party. Several press and media agencies criticized loudly the Iraqi Shiia Coalition during the constitution writing process. Khadir led a campaign to amend the constitution and urged for a constitution to be as peace building tool which brings all parties and opponents to a national consensus and social cohesion rather than a state building as the rulling party is regularly saying. UNAMI commented that most of these civil society activities were and are supported by the UN agencies, International donors or the US and British governments.IRIN/UN news agency reveiled that journalists and writers are the most vulnerable victims to killing, deaths, threats, kidnapping, torture and detention are commonly exercised by un controlled Iraqi forces,paramilitary organisations and Shiia or Suni militias. Similarity to this specific case is occurring and spreading in the south, centre and the north of Iraq.http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=62754

The number of killed journalists and writers in Iraq has exceeded 220 this year. The Iraqi organisation for Supporting Journalists victims reported to IRIN.http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=61847

US veteran, Sergeant Frank "Greg" Ford reports that he witnessed serious violation of political and human rights in Kurdistn, Iraq.

US commanding officers. Honorably discharged US veteran, Sergeant Frank "Greg" Ford reports that he witnessed war crimes in Kurdistan, Iraq.
*Kuwaiti News Agency reports that a high ranking Iraqi security source in the Interior ministry said that the final death toll of the 13 August bombings in the Al-Zafaraniyah district in southern Baghdad is 57 killed and 145 injured, most of them women and children. [ [http://www.kuna.net.kw/Home/Story.aspx?Language=en&DSNO=896237 ] dead link|date=October 2008] Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki laid the blame with Sunni extremists seeking to escalate the conflict. [cite web|url=http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=awUJTxmLETOk&refer=worldwide_news |title=Bloomberg.com: Worldwide |publisher=Bloomberg.com |date= |accessdate=2008-10-05]

Alleged war crimes by coalition forces

Prison and interrogation abuses by coalition forces

January 2004

Video footage taken from the gun camera of a US Apache helicopter in Iraq was shown on ABC TV, showing the killing of suspected Iraqi insurgents. Controversy arose around the case, due to the ambiguity of the video. A cylindrical object is tossed on the ground in a field. The US military considered it to be an RPG or a mortar tube and fired upon the people. IndyMedia UK has suggested that the items may have been harmless implements of some sort. The journal also says that the helicopter opened fire on a man identified as wounded, which they say is in contradiction with international laws. [cite news | url=http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2004/01/284086.html | title=The Apache Killing Video | work=IndyMedia | date=19 January2004 | accessdate=2008-03-05] [cite news | url=http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2004/02/286153.html | title=Experts examine Apache Killing Video| work=IndyMedia | date=February 29 2004 | accessdate=2008-03-05]

On German television, retired General Robert Gard of the US Army stated that the killings were in his opinion "inexcusable murders". [cite news | url=http://daserste.ndr.de/panorama/archiv/2004/t_cid-2877090_.html | title=Das Erste - Panorama - Militärexperten beschuldigen US-Soldaten des Mordes | work=Daserste.de | language=German | accessdate=2008-03-05]

April 2004

"See: Fallujah during the Iraq War"

Eyewitness reports from residents fleeing the city, peace activists, and an aid worker from Doctors Without Borders [ [http://www.msfuae.ae/english/article.asp?ArtID=32 ] dead link|date=October 2008] alleged that the tactics used by U.S. Marines in the siege of Fallujah were a violation of the laws of war and human rights. They alleged that Marine snipers targeted civilians and medical personnel. [cite web|url=http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=04/04/13/1443251 |title=Democracy Now! "Fear is Transmuting Into Anger" - Rahul Mahajan Reports on Resistance in Iraq |publisher=Democracynow.org |date= |accessdate=2008-10-05] [ [http://www.opendemocracy.net/debates/article-2-95-1843.jsp ] dead link|date=October 2008] [ [http://blog.newstandardnews.net/iraqdispatches/archives/000162.html#more Iraq Dispatches: Americans Slaughtering Civilians in Falluja ] ] [cite web|url=http://italy.indymedia.org/news/2004/04/522309.php |title=URGENT: Falluja Massacre Update. Eyewitnes Accounts. Please Take Action!: Italy imc |publisher=Italy.indymedia.org |date= |accessdate=2008-10-05] [cite web|url=http://www.newswales.co.uk/?section=Politics&F=1&id=6831 |title=News Wales > Politics > Fallujah - an eyewitness account |publisher=Newswales.co.uk |date= |accessdate=2008-10-05] [ [http://www.wildfirejo.org.uk/ Wild fire JO ] ] Many newspaper reports indicated that a significant proportion of the casualties in Fallujah were women and children. [ [http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsPackageArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=491768 ] dead link|date=October 2008] [ [http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsPackageArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=496988&section=news ] dead link|date=October 2008] [http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/front/2004/0412/228041404HM1IRAQ.html] [cite web|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1194878,00.html |title=Children hit by 'random shooting' Iraq Guardian Unlimited |publisher=The Guardian |author=Rory McCarthy in Baghdad |date= |accessdate=2008-10-05] [cite web|url=http://www.indcatholicnews.com/falluja.html |title=Independent Catholic News |publisher=Indcatholicnews.com |date= |accessdate=2008-10-05] In a newspaper interview, [cite web|url=http://www.boston.com/news/world/articles/2004/04/19/for_marine_snipers_war_is_up_close_and_personal/ |title=For Marine snipers, war is up close and personal - The Boston Globe |publisher=Boston.com |author=Tony Perry, Los Angeles Times | April 19, 2004 |date=April 19, 2004 |accessdate=2008-10-05] a US sniper described Fallujah as "target-rich", and stated "as a sniper your goal is to completely demoralize the enemy". There were also reports that US and Spanish troops forced Fallujah hospitals to be evacuated when they were needed most urgently. [cite web|url=http://www.empirenotes.org/hospitals.html |title=Empire Notes |publisher=Empirenotes.org |author=Rahul Mahajan |date= |accessdate=2008-10-05] The U.S. military mostly denied the allegations, or refused to comment on them.

"See: Ilario Pantano"

On April 14, Lieutenant Ilario Pantano of the United States Marine Corps, killed two unarmed captives. Lieutenant Pantano claimed that the captives had advanced on him in a threatening manner. The officer who presided over his article 32 hearing recommended a court martial for "body desecration", but all charges against Lieutenant Pantano were dropped due to lack of credible evidence or testimony. He subsequently resigned from the Marine Corps with an honorable discharge.

May 2004

"See: Wedding party massacre"

The village of Mukaradeeb was attacked by American helicopters on May 19, 2004, killing 42 men, women and children. The casualties, 11 of whom were women and 14 were children, were confirmed by Hamdi Noor al-Alusi, the manager of the nearest hospital. Western journalists also viewed the bodies of the children before they were buried. [EastSouthWestNorth [http://www.zonaeuropa.com/20040521_1.htm] ]

November 2005

"See: Haditha killings"

On November 19, 24 Iraqis were killed. At least 15, and allegedly all, of those killed were non-combatant civilians and all are alleged to have been killed by a group of U.S. Marines. The following ongoing investigation claimed it found evidence that "supports accusations that U.S. Marines deliberately shot civilians, including unarmed women and children", according to an anonymous Pentagon official. [cite news |url= http://www.cbc.ca/story/world/national/2006/08/02/haditha-investigation.html |title=Evidence suggests Haditha killings deliberate: Pentagon source |date= 2 August 2006 |publisher=Associated Press]

February 2006

In February 2006 a video showing a group of British soldiers apparently beating several Iraqi teenagers was posted on the internet, and shortly thereafter, on the main television networks around the world. The video, taken from an upper story of a building in the southern Iraqi town of Al-Amarah, shows many Iraqis outside a coalition compound. Following an altercation in which members of the crowd tossed rocks and reportedly an improvised grenade at the soldiers, the British soldiers rushed the crowd. The troopers brought some Iraqi teenagers into the compound and proceeded to beat them. The video includes a voiceover in an British accent, apparently by the cameraman, taunting the beaten teenagers.

The individual recording it could be heard saying::"Oh, yes! Oh Yes! Now you gonna get it. You little kids. You little motherfucking bitch!, you little motherfucking bitch." [cite web|url=http://www.tv4.se/nyheter/443896.html |title=tv4nyheterna.se - Video visar hur britter slår irakier |publisher=Tv4.se |date=Publicerad 6 mar 2008 11:26 |accessdate=2008-10-05]

The event was broadcast in mainstream media, resulting in the British government and military condemning the event. The incident became especially worrisome for British soldiers, who had enjoyed a much more favourable position than American soldiers in the region. Concerns were voiced to the media about the safety of soldiers in the country after the incident. The tape incurred criticism, albeit relatively muted, from Iraq, and media found people prepared to speak out. The Royal Military Police conducted an investigation into the event, and the prosecuting authorities determined that there was insufficient case to justify court martial proceedings. [cite web|url=http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2440710701848675826&q=iraq+beating&pl=true |title=UK Troops Beating Iraqi Children |publisher=Video.google.com |date=Feb 13, 2006 |accessdate=2008-10-05]

March 2006

"See: Mahmudiyah killings"

On March 12, 5 U.S. troops gang raped and murdered a 14 year old Iraqi girl, after murdering 3 members of her family currently in the home at the time. The incident resulted the offenders being prosecuted and a number of reprisal attacks against U.S. troops by insurgent forces.

"See: Ishaqi incident"

On March 15, 11 Iraqi civilians were allegedly bound and executed by U.S. troops in what is termed the "Ishaqi incident". A U.S. investigation found that U.S. military personnel had acted appropriately, and had followed the proper rules of engagement in responding to hostile fire and incrementally escalating force until the threat was eliminated. The Iraqi government has rejected the American conclusions and will launch its own investigation.

April 2006

"See: Hamdania incident"

On April 26, U.S. Marines shot dead an unarmed Iraqi man. An investigation by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service resulted in charges of murder, kidnapping, and conspiracy associated with the coverup of the incident. The defendants are seven Marines and a Navy Corpsman. As of February 2007, five of the defendants have pleaded guilty to lesser charges of kidnapping and conspiracy and have agreed to testify against the remaining defendants who face murder charges. Additional Marines from the same battalion faced lesser charges of assault related to the use of physical force during interrogations of suspected insurgents.

May 2006

On May 9, U.S. troops of the 101st Airborne Division executed 3 male Iraqi detainees at the Muthana Chemical Complex. An investigation and lengthy court proceedings followed, currently PFC Corey R. Clagett, SPC William B. Hunsaker, SPC Juston R. Graber and Staff Sgt Raymond L. Girouard are now serving criminal sentences. [Bryan Bender, [http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2006/06/20/army_says_3_soldiers_shot_3_iraqis_execution_style/ "Army says 3 soldiers shot 3 Iraqis execution-style"] , "The Boston Globe", 20 June 2006]

eptember 2007

"See: Blackwater Baghdad shootings"

On September 16, Blackwater guards shot and killed 17 Iraqi civilians in Nisour Square, Baghdad. [cite news |first=David |last=Johnston |authorlink= |coauthors=John M. Broder |title="F.B.I. Says Guards Killed 14 Iraqis Without Cause" |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/14/world/middleeast/14blackwater.html |publisher=The New York Times |date=2007-11-14 |accessdate=2007-11-30 ]

The current state of human rights

There have been major criticisms by numerous human rights organizations and Shiite officials that currently Sunnis have systematically kidnapped, tortured and killed Sunnis or those who they deem the enemy.

ectarian warfare in Iraq

Iraq is in a state of sectarian civil war. Small groups as well as militia engage in bombings in civilian areas and in assassination of officials of various levels, and against Shiites and smaller religious minorities. Secular-oriented individuals, officials of the new government, aides to the United States (such as translators), individuals and families of the nation's various religious groups are subject to violence and death threats.

Refugee response to threats to life

As a result of attempted murders and death threats 2 million Iraqis have left Iraq. They have mainly gone to Syria, Jordan and Egypt. [cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6286129.stm |title=BBC NEWS Middle East Warnings of Iraq refugee crisis |publisher=News.bbc.co.uk |date=Last Updated: |accessdate=2008-10-05]

" See also Refugees of Iraq. "

Propaganda

On February 17 2006 then-U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld reported about new realities in the media age: [cite web|url=http://www.cfr.org/publication/9900/new_realities_in_the_media_age.html |title=New Realities in the Media Age: A Conversation with Donald Rumsfeld [Rush Transcript; Federal News Service, Inc. - Council on Foreign Relations |publisher=Cfr.org |author=Speaker: Donald H. Rumsfeld, Secretary, U.S. Department of DefensePresider: Kenneth I. Chenault, Chairman, American Express Company |date= |accessdate=2008-10-05]

:"In Iraq, for example, the U.S. military command, working closely with the Iraqi government and the U.S. embassy, has sought nontraditional means to provide accurate information to the Iraqi people in the face of aggressive campaign of disinformation. Yet this has been portrayed as inappropriate; for example, the allegations of someone in the military hiring a contractor, and the contractor allegedly paying someone to print a story—a true story—but paying to print a story."

"The U.S. military plans to continue paying Iraqi newspapers to publish articles favorable to the United States after an inquiry found no fault with the controversial practice," Army General George Casey said March 3, 2006. Casey said that "the internal review had concluded that the U.S. military was not violating U.S. law or Pentagon guidelines with the information operations campaign, in which U.S. troops and a private contractor write pro-American articles and pay to have them planted without attribution in Iraqi media." [cite web|url=http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060304/NATION/603040384/1020 |title=Detnews.com This article is no longer available online |publisher=Detnews.com |date= |accessdate=2008-10-05]

The legal status of Freedom of Speech and the Press is also unclear in Iraq. Both freedoms are promised in the Iraqi Constitution, with exemptions for Islamic morality and national security. However, the operating Iraqi Criminal Code of 1969 has vague prohibitions to using the press or any electronic means of communication for "indecent" purposes.

Other human rights

The United States through the CPA abolished the death penalty (since reinstated) and ordered that Criminal Code of 1969 and the Civil Code of 1974 would be the operating legal system in Iraq. However, there has been some debate as to how far the CPA rules have been applied.

For example, the Iraqi Criminal Code of 1969 does not prohibit forming a trade union and the Iraqi Constitution promises that such an organization will be recognized (a right under Article 23 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights), but for some reason the Iraqi courts and special tribunal seem to be operating under a slightly revised version of the 1988 legal code, and thus a 1987 ban on unions might still be in place.

Likewise, while the Iraqi Criminal Code of 1969 or the apparent 1988 edition do not expressly prohibit homosexual relations between consenting adults in private (a right under a United Nations Human Rights Commission ruling in 1994), scattered reports seem to suggest that homosexuality is still being treated as a crime, possible a capital crime under a 2001 amendment that technically should not exist. For more information on this topic see Gay rights in Iraq.

ee also

* Operation Phantom Fury
* Human rights in pre-Saddam Iraq
* Human rights in Saddam's Iraq
* 2003 invasion of Iraq
* U.S.-led occupation of Iraq
* Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse
* Human Rights Record of the United States
* Country Reports on Human Rights Practices
* Nuremberg Defense
* Gay rights in Iraq
* Refugees of Iraq
* Sectarianism
* Religious war

References

External links

General human rights

* [http://hrw.org/campaigns/iraq/#Anfal] Human Rights Watch: Background on the Crisis in Iraq (a contents page for the organization's various reports on Iraq, mostly after Saddam's regime fell)
* [http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2005/61689.htm] U.S. Department of State Country Report on Human Rights Practices: Iraq, 2005 (released March 8, 2006)
* [http://www.freedomhouse.org/template.cfm?page=22&country=6983&year=2006] Freedom House 2006 report on Iraq

Torture

* [http://web.archive.org/web/20080202123110/http://us.oneworld.net/section/us/latestcoverage/iraq OneWorld.net's Latest Coverage on Iraq]
* [http://www.thememoryhole.org/war/iraqis_tortured/ Pictures of the abuse by US soldiers] , courtesy of The Memory Hole. Note that the full set of pictures has not been released, including the rape of a young Iraqi by a military contractor.
* [http://web.archive.org/web/20060130183425/www.defenselink.mil/transcripts/2003/t04072003_t407genv.html April 7, 2003 DOD Briefing on Geneva Convention, EPW's and War Crimes]
* [http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,967472,00.html The Guardian: "Soldier arrested over Iraqi torture photos" (May 31, 2003)]
* [http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A25762-2004Mar3?language=printer Washington Post: " 'Torture Lite' Takes Hold in War on Terror" (March 3, 2004)]
* [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=%2Fnews%2F2004%2F04%2F11%2Fwtact11.xml "US tactics condemned by British officers" (April 21, 2004)] (Daily Telegraph)
* [http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/04/27/60II/main614063.shtml CBS 60 minutes II: "Abuse Of Iraqi POWs By GIs Probed" (April 29, 2004)]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3672117.stm BBC: "US acts after Iraq prisoner abuse", (30 April 2004)]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/3677311.stm Doubt cast on Iraq torture photos (May 2, 2004)] (BBC)
* [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/1460886/13-reasons-why-this-picture-may-not-be-all-it-seems.html 13 reasons why this picture may not be all it seems (May 2, 2004)] (Daily Telegraph)
* [http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/allnews/tm_objectid=14205311&method=full&siteid=50143&headline=this-is-not-a-hoax--i-saw-it--i-was-there-name_page.html "This Is Not A Hoax. I Saw It, I Was There" (Answers to some of the objections; May 3, 2004)] (The Daily Mirror) [http://www.libertyforum.org/showflat.php?Number=1454540 (Alternative link)]
* [http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1211509,00.html A third UK soldier steps up (May 7, 2004)] (The Guardian)
* [http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/allnews/tm_objectid=14243092&method=full&siteid=50143&headline=we-were-hoaxed--we-ve-admitted-our-mistake---now-what-about-all-yours--name_page.html "Mirror" admits it was "hoaxed" (May 15, 2004)] (The Daily Mirror)
* [http://www.nzherald.co.nz/storydisplay.cfm?storyID=3566592&thesection=news&thesubsection=world Two Danish physicians attest to British abuse (May 15, 2004)] (New Zealand Herald)
* [http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A43783-2004May20?language=printer New Details of Prison Abuse Emerge (May 21, 2004)]
* [http://bgnewsnet.com/story.php?lang=en&sid=7075&PHPSESSID=a7e8706d99af0af80b5783bb6ab2e893 Report: Army doctors involved in Abu Ghraib abuse] (2004-08-20) (Reuters)
* [http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=04/09/14/1351212 Chain of Command: The Road from 9/11 to Abu Ghraib] - Interview with Seymour Hersh by "Democracy Now!" on September 14, 2004.
* [http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/59038/ Journalists Among Those Abused by US Troops] (IFEX)
* [http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2004/41722.htm U.S. State Department on Iraq Human rights in 2004 (released 2005)] Country Reports on Human Rights Practices section on Iraq. 460 KB in size for the Iraq portion alone. HTML. One page. No pictures, all English text.
* [http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/23/opinion/23mon1.html?ex=1270785600&en=37bef79604f97228&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland Editorial: Patterns of Abuse] , New York Times, May 23, 2005
* [http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/KHA849841.htm UN raises alarm on death squads and torture in Iraq] (Reuters, September 8, 2005)
* [http://www.guardian.co.uk/frontpage/story/0,,1682246,00.html US Troops Seize Award-Winning Iraqi Journalist] , The Guardian, January 9, 2006
* [http://www.thanksjoedarby.com/ Thank You Joe Darby] – A site for expressions of support for Joe Darby, the soldier that exposed the graphic photos and video and brought the Abu Ghraib prison scandal to light.
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4642596.stm Iraq general's killer reprimanded] , BBC, January 24, 2006
* [http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-abuse25jan25,0,4530365.story?coll=la-headlines-nation Mild Penalties in Military Abuse Cases] , Los Angeles Times, January 25, 2006

Death Squads

* [http://web.archive.org/web/20050114040831/http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6802629/site/newsweek/ ‘The Salvador Option’] , Newsweek, January 14, 2005
* [http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/news/special_packages/iraq/13890272.htm Sunni men in Baghdad targeted by attackers in police uniforms] , Knight Ridder, June 28, 2005
* [http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-10/08/content_483184.htm 539 Bodies Found in Iraq Since April] , AP, October 7, 2005
* [http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/11/27/iraq.allawi/index.html Ex-PM: Abuse as bad as Saddam era] , CNN, November 27, 2005
* [http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-death29nov29,0,3364549,full.story?coll=la-home-headlines Killings Linked to Shiite Squads in Iraqi Police Force] , LA Times, November 29, 2005
* [http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/1129-08.htm Sunnis Accuse Iraqi Military of Kidnappings and Slayings] , NY Times, November 29, 2005
* [http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0226-01.htm Iraq's Death Squads: On the Brink of Civil War] , The Independent, February 26, 2006
* [http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/26/international/middleeast/26bodies.html?ex=1301029200&en=dd87edf07e0bbc1c&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss Bound, Blindfolded and Dead: The Face of Revenge in Baghdad] , NY Times, March 26, 2006
* [http://www.boston.com/news/world/articles/2006/04/02/iraq_militias_wave_of_death/ Iraq militias' wave of death] , Boston Globe, April 2, 2006