Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Iran

Iraq Wants U.S. To Transfer Control Of Iraqi Prisoners

Prisoners who have been released from Abu Ghurayb Prison in 2005 (RFE/RL)

16 February 2006 -- Iraq's human rights minister has urged U.S.-led forces to hand over all Iraqi inmates at American-run prisons to the Baghdad government.

TEXT SIZE - +

February 16, 2006

The call by Zuhair al-Chalabi today comes after new images of prisoner abuse emerged concerning Iraqi detainees in Abu Ghurayb Prison. The images were taken in late 2003 and were broadcast by an Australian television station.

U.S. forces are holding about 14,000 detainees at several prisons around Iraq, including Abu Ghurayb. Most of those detained have been rounded up on suspicion of planning or carrying out attacks on U.S. and Iraqi government forces.

A top U.S. military spokesman, Major General Rick Lynch, told reporters in Baghdad today the images were related to an isolated event.

"We are not seeing any increased [Iraqi] hostility as a result of those pictures being released,” Lynch said. “We are not seeing that. Remember, those pictures were pictures of criminal acts that took place many years ago: rogue soldiers doing activity that wasn't supported by their chain of command, and those rogue soldiers have been punished."

In Washington, U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said the images depict behavior that the United States has already denounced and punished.

Also today, a statement issued by Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Ja'fari's office said the Iraqi government will act to prevent further abuses of its citizens.

(AP, Reuters)

RFE/RL Iraq Report

SUBSCRIBE For weekly news and analysis on Iraq by e-mail, subscribe to "RFE/RL Iraq Report."

Iran has stepped up its pressure on activists using the Internet

Iranian Activists, Journalists Receive Threatening E-mails

A number of Iranian activists and journalists based inside and outside the country have told RFE/RL’s Radio Farda they have been threatened in anonymous e-mails. More

A vendor in the central Bosnian town of Zenica sells heart-shaped cushions with proclamations of love for 1 euro each.

Love It (Or Hate It), It's Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day, the Western holiday celebrating love, has become a global phenomenon over the past two decades. The fall of communism and the emergence of the Internet have helped February 14 become something of an unofficial international day of romance. However, not all the passions the holiday stirs are related to love. While some countries have openly embraced the holiday, others are attempting to ban it or replace it with local customs. More

Many Iranians have been claiming that their access to social networks and Internet-based e-mail sites has been blocked in recent days.

Iran Tightens Internet Control

Iranians are reporting that their access to Facebook and Internet-based e-mail sites like Gmail has been blocked, without any explanation from the government. Not even the strongest antifiltering programs have penetrated the firewall, they say. Some speculate the move is related to Iran's plan to launch a national internet, which might sever Iranians' ability to access the World Wide Web. More