A/HRC/13/42*
page 111
type of questions. According to Mr. Khan, the questions were provided by British Security
officials. During his detention, he was held handcuffed and hooded. The fifth day, he was
transferred to a police station, where an official of the British Consulate informed him that he
was going back to London the following day. Upon arrival in London, he was not formally
interrogated but asked by British Security officials whether he was well.
3. Iraq
226. With regard to secret detention practiced by the Government of Iraq, the United Nations
Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) referred to “unofficial detention” by Iraqi authorities,
notably the Ministry of the Interior, in several of its reports.425 The al-Jadiriya facility is
mentioned repeatedly in this connection.426 In 2006, drawing attention to the lack of effective
investigations after its discovery, UNAMI noted that:
One year after the discovery of the illegal detention centre of al-Jadiriya’s bunker in
Baghdad, on 13 November 2005, where 168 detainees were unlawfully detained and
abused, the United Nations and international NGOs … continue to request that the
Government of Iraq publish the findings of the investigation on this illegal detention. It
may be recalled that a Joint-Inspection Committee was established after the discovery of
the al-Jadiryia’s bunker in November 2005, in order to establish the general conditions of
detention. The existence of the bunker was revealed after a raid of the Ministry of
Interior’s bunker by MNF I/Iraqi forces. The Iraqi Government should start a judicial
investigation into human rights violations in al-Jadiriya. The failure to publish the
al-Jadiriya report, as well as other investigations carried out by the Government regarding
conditions of detention in the country, remains a matter of serious concern and affects
Iraq’s commitment to establish a new system based on the respect of human rights and the
rule of law.”427
Another unofficial place of detention under the Ministry of the Interior was the so-called
“site 4”. According to UNAMI:
On 30 May [2006], a joint inspection led by the Deputy Prime Minister and MNF-I, in a
prison known as “Site 4,” revealed the existence of 1,431 detainees with systematic
evidence of physical and psychological abuse. Related to alleged abuses committed at
“Site 4,” a probe by 3 separate investigative committees was set up. After two and a half
months, the probe concluded that 57 employees, including high-ranking officers, of the
425
UNAMI human rights report, 1 November - 31 December 2005, paras. 9-11.
426
UNAMI human rights report, 1 July - 31 August 2006, paras. 70-73; and 1 May 30 June 2006, paras. 76-78.
427
UNAMI human rights report, 1 November - 31 December 2006, paras. 90-91.
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