Watchdog

Amnesty International says it has gathered evidence suggesting that Iraqi government forces tortured and killed villagers near the northern city of Mosul.

The London-based human rights group said up to six people were killed execution-style in late October in several villages south of Mosul due to suspected links with the Islamic State (IS) extremist group.

Iraqi forces, backed by U.S. air strikes and Kurdish Peshmerga fighters, have been battling to retake Mosul from the militants.

"Men in federal police uniform have carried out multiple unlawful killings, apprehending and then deliberately killing in cold blood," said Lynn Maalouf, deputy director for research at Amnesty's Beirut regional office.

"In some cases the residents were tortured before they were shot dead execution-style," she added.

The rights group has called on the Iraqi government to investigate the deaths.

Based on reporting by Reuters and dpa

A member of Russia's presidential council for human rights said activist Ildar Dadin, who claims to have been tortured and beaten in prison, refused to be transferred to a different facility.

Igor Kalyapin, who said earlier that Dadin must be moved to another penitentiary as the conflicts between him and the guards in the penal colony were "too deep," said on November 9 that the activist does not want to leave the inmates in the facility in the northwestern town of Segezha.

According to Kalyapin, Dadin fears that if he leaves the colony the other inmates will continue being mistreated by the guards.

Dadin claimed in a letter to his wife that he had been tortured and threatened while serving his 2 1/2-year sentence, which started in December.Rights defenders who visited the penitentiary say that other inmates also reported being tortured and beaten.

Dadin, 34, was the first person convicted in Russia of taking part in multiple unsanctioned protests. He received a three-year sentence in December that was later reduced by six months.

With reporting by TASS