BAMRO

 

 

 Belgian International Organization for Human Rights and Development 

 

BAMRO accuses the governor of Babylon and Iraqi security services in the province of crimes against humanity and calls the relevant committees in the United Nations to intervene immediately for the judicial follow up of the accused.

 

 

 Summary of the legal memorandum

 

  About a group of protesters who have been assaulted by government security forces in the Iraqi province of Babylon.

 BAMRO raised an urgent memorandum rights to the Human Rights Committee, which is preparing for the fifth review of Iraq during the session 115 of the Commission to be held from 26 to 27 of October 2015. The memorandum contains several recommendations to address these issues. We look forward to the Commission's experts assessing Iraq's implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which was ratified by Iraq in 1971. BAMRO also called the Committee against Torture to take all necessary legal measures.

 

THE VICTIMS: 

 

  A group of protesters who have been assaulted by government security forces in Babylon on Saturday, August 22^nd,2015 and on Monday24th,2015 and on Sunday 13/9/2015. Protesters are unnamed for their own safety.

 

: THE ACCUSED

 -Sadiq Madloul Mohammed: Governor of Babylon, personally in addition to his professional responsibility.

-Riad Abdul Amir Alehikani: Babylon police chief and the commander of operations of Babylon, personally  and in addition to his professional responsibility.

-Falah al-Radi: head of the security committee in the province of Babylon, personally and in addition to his professional responsibility.

- Amid Falah Sultani : commander of riot forces.

-As well as the rest of the province security officials who took part in breaking up the peaceful protest.

 

 

 DETAILS OF THE MEMORANDUM: 

 

    At the dawn of Saturday, August 22^nd exactly at four o'clock, a group of Riot police and other government forces assaulted peaceful protesters who were mostly from educated social class: Doctors, engineers, lawyers, jurists, university graduates, and government staff. All of whom carried out this protest  to demand the resignation of the governor of Babylon and the freezing of the Council as well as the holding of early elections because of the bad administration of the province and suspicions of administrative and financial corruption marking the performance of the city governor .

   After the troops circled the place from all sides, turned off the lights and did some provocative acts that aim at spreading  terror and fear in the hearts of peaceful unarmed protesters, they began to progress at four o'clock in the morning and started hitting them with sticks and batons and water hoses. Meanwhile, some protesters were guided to distant places for the purpose of their detention without any justifiable reason.

  0n Monday,August24th, in front of the governate building, and upon the return of protestants to street to demand the resignation of the governor of Babylon and his presentation to the court for judgment , the same forces repeated the same crime of assaulting unarmed peaceful protesters. The province of Babylon and all government agencies revealed undeniable ignorance towards the protesters’ demands. Besides they refused to hold any meeting of the Council for more than six weeks to continue their disregard for the written demands presented by the coordinators. The most significant of these demands was the call for the dismissal of the governor of Babylon and the freezing of the provincial council as well as the selection of a competent manager to lead the province. Consequently, the coordinators decided to maintain the protest in front of the provincial council and to lock it as an expression of the total rejection of the governor.

   Although there has been an agreement with the officer in charge of the Security Council and the elderly protesters, riot forces backed up by forces, literally known as :SWAT suddenly started throwing water on protesters and hitting them though these peaceful unarmed protesters  did not act in any violent way nor did they assault anyone. Moreover, the forces kept firing tear gases, and even shooting, protesters with live bullets of the unilateral type. They also burnt tires and images, but pretended that this act was conducted by protesters themselves.  

 

    Moreover, infiltrators, who turned out later to be belonging governmental security forces but dressed in civilian clothes, opted for using razor blades for the purpose of charging the protesters and so delaying their demands. Besides, a large number of protesters were chased to distant places. Furthermore, forces broke into some homes and beat strongly protesters whether they were young, elder, disabled or ordinary citizens who did not even took part in the protest. The forces also refused to offer medical treatment or transfer the injured to hospitals for fear of medical reports. Within the same strategy,  hospitals in the province refused to receive the injured at the directives of the security authorities in the province.

       On Tuesday, September15th,2015, a fact-finding committee of the Independent High Commission for Human Rights, headed by the Chairman, paid a visit to the province, met the protesters and listened to them. During this meeting, the complainants presented enough evidence, including medical reports, wounds and bruises on the victims’ bodies to prove their claim in addition to videos that demonstrate that it was the government forces that began assaulting unarmed peaceful protesters who were demanding their constitutional legitimate rights.

       The victims and their families revealed to BAMRO that the Committee’s report on September20th,2015 was unsatisfactory and far away from reality . Besides, there have not been any decisions or recommendations nor has there been any activating of the decisions of the Commission.

 

Complainants :

 

           BAMRO opts for anonymity in order to preserve the complainants’ lives. However, the victims’ names and their legal authorization for the lawyer of BAMRO to take charge of their case are revealed at the UN committees in the charge of their case.

The first complainant: the citizen (Z, Y, S) whose occupation is a doctor in a hospital in the province: A group of anti-riot in addition to other people beat him severely and stole the mobile phones in his possession at four in the morning of Saturday August22nd,2015. When he addressed the perpetrators and asked them, in a respectable manner, to leave him alone, they responded: ”We hate you! We constantly insult you at checkpoints! At Passports services! At police stations! This is due to your frequent requests to stop what you call the phenomenon of corruption in the province!” In fact, this victim was assaulted so severely that the beating left clear traces on his body (and there is a medical report attached).

    Two days after the accident, the lawyer cooperating with BAMRO met in the province Babylon in Iraq a citizen, who we reserve to keep unnamed. The citizen( B.L) who is an inhabitant in the province, and whose occupation is a taxi driver, stated that during his work , two men from the inhabitants of the area (Sredib) in the region of the Nile, where the housing of the governor of Babylon is located rode with him. The two men claimed that they were working for the security forces of the governor of Babylon, and that they have carried out the attack on the protesters based on the instructions of security leaders without apparent reason. Finally, they concluded that they were proud of that criminal act.

 The second complainant: the citizen (A. K. H), a young man with an amputated leg because of a terrorist bombing. Government forces deliberately broke his amputated leg on August24th,2015 (and there is a medical report attached).

 

The third complainant: (m. B. R.) Government forces arrested him because he offered aid to peaceful unarmed protesters who fainted due to inhaling tear gas. This victim was beaten in the Directorate of Babylon crimes !!! He was forced to confess and mention the names of the organizers of the protest as well. They even obliged him to confess that he is the one who attacked the riot forces. Finally, he was released on bail.

 

Among other occurring crimes, we mention the following:

 

-Upon entering to detention centers, protesters saw the individuals who had tried to stir up riots in the protest and discovered later that they were employees of the security services in the province of Babylon.

- In addition, one of the citizens working near the scene of the protest was subject to hitting and forced detention because he was only in place of the protest (this was documented)

 

-Members belonging to the governor chased some of the protesters out of the times of protest and threatened them of killing, besides they terrified them by guns in front of their homes. As a result, because of their fear, these protesters refused to set up a complaint.

 - The local responsible in the locality of  Karad in Babylon was provided by a list of names, and was told to warn the protesters of participation, otherwise, they will be prosecuted.

-There were telephone calls with some protesters to urge them stop any act of protest or criminal complaints against them will be activated in case of their participation in the protest.

  -On the evening of Monday, September16th,2015 at seven o’clock pm a governmental power started  arresting a lot of people who were present in the Liberty Gardens (formerly known by the Corniche), a public place where people gather every day in the evening. They were arrested under the pretext of their participation in the protestations (This was documented)

 

 

Crimes:

 

First: the violation of the right to life

     Including excessive use of force during the break up of protests by government forces, which leads to deaths among protesters. The legal judgments issued are often unfair because they are based on the Iraqi Anti-Terrorism Act No. 13 for the year 2005, which is a vague law with non-specific legal limits. BAMRO has previously presented its reservations about Iraqi Anti-Terrorism law, and this is currently available in its electronic site: www. bamro.org. A copy of these reservations is attached to the Human Rights Committee, which is preparing for the fifth review of Iraq during the 115 session of the Commission to be held on October 26th ,27th, 2015.

 

Second: the practice of torture on peaceful protesters.

Although the State of Iraq signed the Convention against Torture in 2011, irrefutable evidence including: pictures and medical reports attached to this memorandum unveil that the security forces in the province of Babylon, exercised torture on protesters under direct orders from the accused responsibles  mentioned above. Such act is certainly opposing the Convention against Torture (CAT) Authenticated on July 7th, 2011 and the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture (OPCAT), which stressed the tougher penalties for criminals, and justice for the victims besides restoring their moral and legal rights no matter who committed this offense.

 

Third: Enforced Disappearance:

  Some victims were hidden without a warrant for different periods. This  enforced disappearance, which constitute a crime against humanity, is equally contrary to the document of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and to the Covenant relevant to areas of human rights and humanitarian law and international criminal law, and the resolution adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations in its resolution 47/133 of December18th, 1992. The International Covenant document mentioned above  emphasizes the prevention of enforced disappearance and calls for combating impunity for perpetrators of the crime of enforced disappearance. Besides, it stresses the right of victims to justice and recompense, and affirms the right of any victim to know the truth about enforced disappearance conditions and to know about the fate of the disappeared person, as well as his or her right in the freedom of gathering, receiving and imparting information to this objective.

 

Recommendations:

 

First: Based on the above and the rationale mentioned in these violations, we demand the allocation of a special committee to demand that the state of Iraq introduces the defendants to investigation immediately for the use of violence against protesters, and for putting their lives at risk because they are directly responsible for these illegal acts. All those involved in the crime must be  brought to justice based on the supporting evidence, including: the injured’s pictures, medical reports and video clips (attached exclusively with the memorandum). They all demonstrate the government anti-riot forces and security agencies assault on peaceful unarmed protesters, and hiding some of them forcibly.

Second: the prompt, effective, and impartial investigation in all violations and the prosecution of those responsible for these acts while providing effective remedies for victims. BAMRO hopes that the issues raised in the memorandum will be addressed during the dialogue, which will bring together experts of the Committee on Human Rights and the Iraqi delegation in order to put an end to all human rights violations.

Third:  we also call the Iraqi government and the Ministry of Human Rights as well as the House of Representatives to deal seriously with the issue and stop the defendants immediately and to open an investigation with them, bearing in mind that BAMRO and its legal team will resort to international justice to restore the rights of the victims and to hold the accused accountable according to the United Nations mechanisms in this regard.

 

 

Fourth: We demand the UN committees in charge of this case to support the lawyer of BAMRO, who proceeded to raise the issue before international courts, in the conduct of the case with all necessary legal and media requirement.

 

Attachments:

. -exclusive pictures of the accident to BAMRO

-medical reports of victims.

. -identification documents of victims

. -The victims’ legal authorization for BAMRO

. -The legal authorization to the victim’s lawyer in BAMRO

 

 

A copy of the memorandum to the media.

A copy to the Office of the High Commissioner of the United Nations

A copy to the Committee of forced detention.