Iraqi court rulings stop at U.S. detention sites
So far the only known case of the Iraqi courts granting amnesty to a U.S. detainee involved AP photographer Bilal Hussein. He was released within 72 hours of the ruling in early April, but with a caveat from the military that he was not being freed because of the amnesty.
"The decision to detain is based on an assessment of the threat the individual poses to the security of Iraq," Stone said in a statement at the time. "These determinations will continue to be made on a case-by-case basis and as a separate action from any determination of amnesty."
Maj. Matthew Morgan, Stone's spokesman, said military lawyers have identified more than 400 other U.S. detainees who may also be eligible for amnesty.
"We are reviewing those cases to decide if each detainee will remain in our custody as a security internee or be released," Morgan said. It is not known when — or if — the Iraqi courts will take up those amnesty hearings.
By contrast, government commissions have granted amnesty in 22,500 cases, said Abdul-Sattar Bayrkdar, a spokesman for the Iraqi Higher Judicial Council. But one person could be the subject of multiple cases, and it's unclear how many individuals have been granted total amnesty.
Tracking cases difficult
Tracking individual cases through Iraq's jails is very difficult. U.S. detention centers take in and release dozens of people every day, creating a high turnover in a very complex bureaucracy. The military has released more than 6,000 people since January while maintaining an average detainee population of more than 24,000.
Record-keeping in Iraqi courts, meanwhile, is shrouded in secrecy and technical shortcomings. The number of computers is limited, with few skilled workers to maintain databases, and the U.S. and Iraqi authorities do not always share vital information.
In the U.S. detention system, different boards and committees make recommendations on each detainee at least every six months.
The final decision, though, rests with Stone. He can accept or reject the recommendations made by the boards or committees.
The military asserts that it is on solid footing under international law. But the wide-ranging authority claimed by the Pentagon is not in the U.N. resolution itself, and instead is included in a side letter from then Secretary of State Colin Powell.
Experts said it is so general that it allows for broad — and differing — interpretations.
"The United States has spent a lot of time establishing the criminal court," said Logan of Human Rights Watch. "It is something they regard as a model judicial body for Iraq, and, in that case, if it's going to selectively ignore the court's rulings on freeing people who have been referred from (U.S. military) detention, it doesn't say very much about the institution the (military) had a major role in creating," he added.
The laws of war
But Stone and his staff insist they are operating under the laws of war, which supplant standard human rights law.
"The conditions on the ground require us to temporarily derogate from certain rights in order to ultimately lay the groundwork for civil society and the implementation of human rights law," Stone said.
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The clock, meanwhile, is ticking on the U.N. resolution, which expires at the end of the year.
U.S. authorities are trying to negotiate an agreement with the Iraqi government to maintain the current system. Iraqi officials, though, demand that all Iraqis held by U.S. forces be surrendered to their control.
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Petr David Josek / ASSOCIATED PRESS A U.S. soldier from the 101st Airborne Division guards detainees while waiting for helicopters to land in the village of Owesap, south of Baghdad on Nov. 16, 2007. |
Falah Shanshal, a Shiite lawmaker from the bloc loyal to anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, insisted that "the government has to take over these prisoners and apply the amnesty."
The amnesty is also extremely important to Sunnis, who make up most of the prisoners.
"We are not pleased at all with the way the amnesty program has been managed so far," said Salim Abdullah, a Sunni lawmaker from the Iraqi Islamic Party. "There are large number of (U.S.) detainees who were not included."
Meanwhile, Humadi remains in Camp Bucca indefinitely, and his wife, Nimaa, says: "I pray to God to save my husband and put an end to our long misery."
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