EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

In its “Report on the Treatment by the Coalition Forces of Prisoners of War and other protected persons in Iraq”, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) draws the attention of the Coalition Forces (hereafter called “the CF”) to a number of serious violations of International Humanitarian Law. These violations have been documented and sometimes observed while visiting prisoners of war, civilian internees and other protected persons by the Geneva Conventions (hereafter called persons deprived of their liberty when their status is not specifically mentioned) in Iraq between March and November 2003. During its visits to places of internment of the CF, the ICRC collected allegations during private interviews with persons deprived of their liberty relating to the treatment by the CF of protected persons during their capture, arrest, transfer, internment and interrogation.

The main violations, which are described in the ICRC report and presented confidentially to the CF, include:

• Brutality against protected persons upon capture and initial custody, sometimes causing death or serious injury

• Absence of notification of arrest of persons deprived of their liberty to their families causing distress among persons deprived of their liberty and their families

• Physical or psychological coercion during interrogation to secure information

• Prolonged solitary confinement in cells devoid of daylight

• Excessive and disproportionate use of force against persons deprived of their liberty resulting in death or injury during their period of internment