Report finds torture is rife in new Iraq

TEN years after the invasion that toppled the brutal dictatorship of Saddam Hussein, Iraq remains mired in human rights abuses, according to a report.

Thousands of Iraqis are detained without trial or serving prison sentences imposed after unfair hearings. Torture remains rife, and the new Iraq is one of the world’s leading executioners, says Amnesty International.

The study, Iraq: A Decade of Abuses, catalogues years of torture and other ill-treatment of detainees by Iraqi security forces and foreign troops in the wake of the 2003 invasion.

It says the Iraqi authorities have failed to uphold human rights and respect the rule of law. It highlights the case of Ramze Shihab Ahmed, a 70-year-old dual Iraqi-UK national who was given a 15-year jail sentence after a hearing that lasted only 15 minutes.