Privileges of New Democratic Iraq: Rape & Torture of Innocent Women in Maliki’s Prisons

Privileges of New Democratic Iraq: Rape & Torture of Innocent Women in Maliki’s Prisons

by Dr. Souad Al-Azzawi

Al Maliki emphasized that his government (occupation assigned) will not meet the demonstrators demands. He kept eluding and twisting facts about the humanitarian and justified demands the protesters.   Al Maliki, occupation appointed Prime Minister of Iraq, appeared on Saturday, Feb. 2, 2013 on Arabia TV channel. The dialogue evolved around the protests of millions of Iraqis which have lasted more than 40 days. In this interview, Al Maliki emphasized that his government (occupation assigned) will not meet the demonstrators demands. He kept eluding and twisting facts about the humanitarian and justified demands the protesters. Nothing is unexpected in what he said or claimed because we all know in Iraq that he is an occupation puppet and would only serve American and Iranian occupation interests in Iraq. What was disturbing and caught my attention was Maliki’s comments on the detention and torture of women in Iraqi prisons. He claimed that under law, a woman can be detained if she covers up the crimes of her husband. With this statement, Maliki claimed he had the answer to the angry protests all over Iraq calling for the release of all innocent women. Mothers, sisters, daughters and wives have been unjustly detained, tortured or raped, simply because they do not know the whereabouts of the men in their families. Thousands of women have been detained with no legal accusations. Some of them are imprisoned with their infants and children in unbearable prison conditions [1] just because Maliki claims that their husbands, brothers, or fathers have committed an act of terror. Many of these accusations and ‘claims’ are via the confidential ‘informer’ system which is yet another wonderful gift of the American occupation to the people of Iraq. Due to heavy resistance against the occupation forces by the Iraqi national resistance, the confidential informer system was put in place to make everyone a suspect. Information about ‘terrorists’ would be collected from anonymous informers in return for a certain amount of money. Iraqis have been executed, houses demolished, and citizens sentenced for life, based on informants who traded false accusations for money [2]. Since the laws of antiterrorism protect these informers, this technique has been used for sectarian and ethnic cleansing of Maliki’s opponents.  Human rights organizations and a representative of the EU in Iraq last week all expressed their concerns regarding corruption of the judicial system [3] [4]. Such a corrupted judicial and confidential informer system is the major reason behind detaining tens of thousands of prisoners in secret and Ministry of Justice prisons.  Women in Iraq prior to occupation enjoyed the most progressive women’s rights in the Middle East region. They were the first Arab and Muslim women to hold high positions in academia, law, medicine and government posts [5]. Real deterioration of women rights and living conditions started during the economic sanctions imposed on Iraq for 13 years. Further collapse of women status appeared under the American occupation of Iraq from 2003 onwards and the decline continues to date [6].   Prior to the American occupation, the penalty for raping a woman, especially if she was a minor, was the death sentence. Some people find this penalty harsh and cruel, but in reality it was amended not only to protect women but to avoid tribal revenge wars that might continue for tens of years if a woman from a well-connected tribe is raped. Society’s tradition and culture in Iraq haven’t changed much because these tribal rules are still inherited and acted upon.  The American occupation of Iraq has adopted a religious based and not a secular constitution and political processes. Iraqi women got back to the dungeon of Harem.  Today their counter partners and tribal rulings are totally responsible for their safety in the absence of the law. On behalf of all oppressed Iraqi women in and outside the prisons, we would like to ask Maliki and his criminal forces the following, ■ Under what law a wife, a mother, a daughter or a sister should be detained and tortured because she doesn’t know where the men of the family are? Men in most of Arabic “Sunni” majority areas are leaving their women and children because the government continues sectarian targeting, killing, and raids, and not because they committed any crime.   ■ •What kind of judicial system is this, when women are criminalized for covering up acts of men in the family, only because a corrupt confidential informer who needs money claimed that those men are criminals? With no legal interrogations or defense or court orders whatsoever.   ■ •Most of the detainees have been accused under Article 4 of terrorism act , because they refused to collaborate with the occupation forces and its assigned government. Others because they attacked the American armed forces while they were slaughtering civilians all over Iraq. The Geneva convention protocols and international laws give the people of an invaded and occupied country the right to defend themselves by all means, including armed resistance. All of these facts show that even if the men in the family did resist the occupation, they are definitely not criminals and their wives and children shouldn’t be tortured and raped for their legal rights under international law. ■ •How come real criminals and groups who are killing civilians through massive car bombs and sectarian and ethnic cleansing are all enjoying freedom? How come politicians and contractors responsible for infrastructure destruction and damages, corruption, and the theft of billions of dollars, are all out of prison? Terrorists, militias and mercenaries who use car bombs and road side mines are all imported and supported by the occupation. Each party involved in the political process, installed by the occupation and supported by Iran has its own militia, like Jaish al Mahdi, Badr Brigade, Assaeb Al Haq, Alkudis Iranian Brigade, and USA created and imported al Qaeda Terrorists. Those are the real terrorists who should be in prison, not innocent men and women who refuse to be part of the occupation and destruction of Iraq.       We all call on Maliki and his government what protesters all over Iraq are shouting: ” Free all innocent women and men from your prisons immediately” Notes: Notes from: [1] Dirk Adriaensens “Women, Men and Children Are Routinely Tortured and Raped in Iraqi Prisons. The Perpetrators Walk Free. http://www.uruknet.info/?p=93025. [2] Justice for the Iraqi People. The uprisings continue. http://www.brussellstribunal.org/article_view.asp?id=664. [3] HRW.  “World Report, 2013” http://www.hrw.org/world-report/2013. [4] سفيرة الاتحاد الأوروبي: مشكلة العراق انعدام القانون http://www.alwaleedonline.com/NewsDetails.aspx?NewsID=16753. [5] Decline of Iraqi Women Empowerment through Education under the AmericanOccupation.http://www.brusselstribunal.org/pdf/IraqiWomen_Azzawi_100311.pdf. [6] Deterioration of Iraqi Women’s Rights and Living Conditions Under Occupation http://www.globalresearch.ca/deterioration-of-iraqi-women-s-rights-and-living-conditions-under-occupation/7785. Source