Report criticizes interim Iraq government

[leftchick]

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apmideast_story.asp?category=1107&slug=Human%20Rights

Under the interim Iraq government, there were reports of local police and other government agents killing members of Saddam's Baath Party, a mother and daughter accused of prostitution and kidnappers of police officers, the State Department noted. It cited a report by Human Rights Watch that said "torture and ill treatment of detainees by police was commonplace."

The report, released Monday, did not address incidents in Iraq in which Americans were involved, such as the abuse of prisoners at Abu Ghraib.

In the Iraqi judicial system, the report noted, defendants were generally given short shrift. There were no jury trials; a defendant's guilt or innocence was decided by a three-judge panel and those convicted were sentenced immediately after the verdict. There were reports that "the judiciary was subject to external influence," the State Department report said.

And while various laws and regulations were in place to prevent forced child labor, the report said "children were routinely tapped as an additional source of labor or income for the family unit."