The Iraqi authorities must urgently investigate reports that fighters wearing Iraqi Federal Police uniforms tortured and extrajudicially executed residents in villages they captured south of Mosul.

Researchers from Amnesty International visited several villages in the al-Shura and al-Qayyara sub-districts of Ninewa governorate, south-west and south of Mosul, and gathered evidence indicating that up to six people were extrajudicially executed in late October, apparently due to suspicions they had ties to the armed group calling itself the Islamic State (IS).

“Without effective measures to suppress and punish serious violations, there is a real risk that we could see war crimes of this kind repeated in other Iraqi villages and towns during the Mosul offensive.”

Lynn Maalouf, Deputy Director for Research

“Men in Federal Police uniform have carried out multiple unlawful killings, apprehending and then deliberately killing in cold blood residents in villages south of Mosul. In some cases the residents were tortured before they were shot dead execution-style,” said Lynn Maalouf, Deputy Director for Research at Amnesty International’s Beirut Regional Office.

“Deliberately killing captives and other defenceless individuals is prohibited by international humanitarian law and is a war crime. It is crucial that the Iraqi authorities carry out prompt, thorough, impartial and independent investigations into these crimes under international law, and bring those responsible to justice. Without effective measures to suppress and punish serious violations, there is a real risk that we could see war crimes of this kind repeated in other Iraqi villages and towns during the Mosul offensive.”

The killings took place against the backdrop of armed confrontations in the al-Shura sub-district on 21 October between IS and Iraqi forces. As the area was largely depopulated and Iraqi forces suffered at least one fatality that morning, it appears that Iraqi forces were presuming that only IS fighters had remained behind.

As well as launching an investigation, Amnesty International calls on the Iraqi authorities to guarantee that witnesses to these crimes and their families are protected from any revenge attacks or intimidation.

A number of Iraqi forces participating in the conflict against IS, including army units, fighters from two local Tribal Mobilization militias and members of federal and local police, are believed to have been present in, or passed through, the villages while the torture and extrajudicial executions were taking place. Some reports suggest that a senior commander of the “Operations to Liberate Ninewa” may have been in the vicinity at the time.

According to information obtained by Amnesty International, on the morning of 21 October around 10 men and a 16-year-old boy, mainly from the villages of Na’na’a and al-Raseef, were tortured and otherwise ill-treated after they handed themselves over to a small group of men wearing Federal Police uniforms, in an area known as Nus Tal. They had waved a white cloth and lifted their shirts to show that they were not wearing explosive belts and did not pose a threat.

Shortly afterwards, reinforcements arrived and the men were taken on foot to an open desert area, about a kilometre away between the town of al-Qayyarah and the al-Shura sub-district, identifiable by a broken-down caravan. Fighters dressed in Federal Police uniforms beat the group with cables and rifle butts, punched and kicked them, and pulled their beards – even setting one man’s beard alight.

The victims were made to lie on their stomachs and shots were fired between their legs, as they were insulted, often using sectarian language, and accused of being members of “Daesh” (the Arabic acronym for IS).

Ahmed Mahmoud Dakhil and Rashid Ali Khalaf from the village of Na’na’a, as well as a third man from the village of Tulul Nasser, were then separated from the larger group. Men in Federal Police uniforms then subjected them to particularly brutal beatings before shooting them dead. Their decomposing remains were found in the same area some five days later. Rashid Ali Khalaf’s head had been severed from his body.

Another villager from al-Raseef, Hussein Ahmed Hussein, was last seen alive on 21 October. He was being handcuffed and led away by a group of men in Federal Police uniforms, near the caravan, after being beaten with rifle-butts, punched and insulted. His body was discovered nearby a week later.

“When the Mosul military operation began, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi made clear that violations by Iraqi armed forces and its allies would not be tolerated. Now is the time for him to prove just that.”

Retreating IS fighters forcibly moved hundreds of women, children and older men from the villages of Na’na’a and al-Raseef to Hamam Alil in an apparent attempt to use them as human shields. IS fighters made public announcements ordering the villages’ residents to leave their homes using the local mosques’ loudspeakers, on 19 October. However, some younger men apparently managed to stay behind, hiding in unfinished or abandoned buildings.

Hussein Dakhil was among the few who defied IS’s orders. Two days later, on 21 October after government forces arrived in the village, he was found dead with two bullet wounds, to the chest and chin, shortly after leaving a house near the Mishraq Sulphur Company building in the Shura sub-district, which IS fighters had set fire to before leaving the village. He was blindfolded with his torso exposed, suggesting that he had been detained before being extrajudicially executed.

On that same day, another man, Bashar Hamadi, was also apparently shot dead as he ran towards forces that included men in Federal Police Uniform, while pulling up his clothes to show that he had no explosives. According to information received by Amnesty International, he was shot from about 50 metres away and left on the ground. His body was found about a week later.

All those killed were buried without autopsies after their corpses were found.

“When the Mosul military operation began, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi made clear that violations by Iraqi armed forces and its allies would not be tolerated. Now is the time for him to prove just that,” said Lynn Maalouf.

“The Iraqi authorities must immediately investigate these alarming reports of extrajudicial executions and torture. They must remove from active duty all individuals who are suspected of committing war crimes and other serious human rights

violations, pending the outcome of judicial investigations.”

Background

This is not the first time Amnesty International has documented extrajudicial executions by men in Iraqi Federal Police uniform. On 27 May 2016, during operations to retake Falluja and surrounding areas, at least 16 men and boys from the Jumaili tribe were shot dead near Sijir, after handing themselves over to fighters, some of whom were wearing Federal Police uniforms.

The Federal Police is part of the Ministry of Interior, and has been involved in counter-insurgency efforts.

Amnesty International and renowned Iranian music band Kiosk are calling on artists and members of the public around the world to join a #FreeArtists campaign to demand that Iran immediately and unconditionally release jailed artists, including a musician and a filmmaker who are on hunger strike in Tehran’s Evin Prison.

The brothers, musician Mehdi Rajabian and filmmaker Hossein Rajabian, are currently serving three-year prison terms. They were convicted in 2015 after a blatantly unfair trial before a Revolutionary Court of charges that included “insulting Islamic sanctities” and “illegal audio-visual activities”. On 28 October 2016, they began their second hunger strike in protest against their imprisonment.

A third artist Keywan Karimi has also been sentenced to six years’ in prison for “insulting Islamic sanctities”, also related to his artistic work and is at imminent risk of imprisonment.

“Expressing yourself through art is not a crime.”

Philip Luther, Amnesty International’s Research and Advocacy Director for the Middle East and North Africa. 

“Expressing yourself through art is not a crime and it is outrageous that the Iranian authorities have resorted to locking up artists and musicians simply for their artistic work. Mehdi and Hossein Rajabian are prisoners of conscience who shouldn’t be forced to spend a single minute behind bars. The Iranian authorities must order their immediate and unconditional release,” said Philip Luther, Amnesty International’s Research and Advocacy Director for the Middle East and North Africa.

“Their imprisonment is yet another nail in the coffin for freedom of expression in Iran. The human right to liberty is sadly so undervalued by the Iranian authorities that they are prepared to condemn individuals to years in jail just to silence artistic voices that they deem as ‘anti-Islamic’ and ‘anti-revolutionary’.”

The brothers have put their health at risk by going on hunger strike as a last resort to demand their freedom. They have said they will refuse intravenous drips until they are released from prison.

Since his hunger strike, Mehdi Rajabian has coughed up blood twice and says that he was punched in the stomach by a prison doctor after being taken to the prison clinic. Amnesty International is also demanding that the Iranian authorities ensure both brothers have access to a qualified health professional.

Amnesty International welcomes the news that the Australian Labor Party has unanimously rejected Immigration Minister Dutton’s outrageous and unnecessary proposal for a lifetime ban on people seeking asylum.

“It is encouraging to see the Labor party step up at this time and make the right decision to reject this callous and cruel legislation,” said Dr Graham Thom, Refugee Coordinator at Amnesty International Australia.

“The proposed lifetime ban of refugees has been laid out and seen for what it really is – yet another layer of cruelty in Australia’s already deliberately abusive policy, designed to cause even more suffering to people who are simply looking for a safe place to rebuild their lives.”

Amnesty International is now strongly urging the Senate crossbench to follow the ALP’s lead and reject the bill to ensure this cruel proposal has no future.

“Instead of focusing on short-term punitive measures which blatantly disregard the Australian Government’s responsibility to provide safety and protection for people who need it, the quickest and fairest way to look after the 2000 men, women and children on Nauru and Manus Island is to bring them to Australia for processing and settlement,” said Dr Graham Thom.

“The next crucial step for all parties is to look towards humane solutions – solutions that both reduce deaths at sea and eliminate abusive treatment of refugees – one shouldn’t come at the expense of the other.” 

In response to the announcement by the United Nations that it will investigate last week’s US-led airstrikes in Kunduz province, in which more than 30 civilians were killed, Champa Patel, Amnesty International’s South Asia Director said:

“The horrific events in Kunduz last week are the latest in a growing list of incidents which have resulted in Afghan civilians being killed or injured in attacks that appear to have violated international humanitarian law.”

“We hope that this UN investigation into the circumstances surrounding the bombing represents a step towards truth and justice for the victims and their families.”

“If the investigation ultimately does show that the attack violated international humanitarian law, it is critical that US/NATO forces are held accountable. If there is evidence of war crimes, those responsible must be prosecuted in fair trials.”

Background:

‘Left in the Dark’, a 2014 report by Amnesty International, detailed the failures of accountability for US military operations in Afghanistan. The report, based on interviews with 125 Afghan victims, their family members and eyewitnesses to the attacks, detailed 10 different incidents that ended with the deaths of at least 140 civilians, including at least 50 children. Among the incidents was a late-night raid on a home in February 2010 in Paktia province that left two pregnant women, two criminal justice officials and a teenage girl dead.

The US armed forces have launched their own investigation into the airstrikes in Kunduz.

Kurdish authorities have carried out a wave of attacks, demolishing the homes and driving out hundreds of Arabs from Kirkuk, as apparent revenge for an attack carried out by the armed group calling itself the Islamic State (IS) on 21 October, said Amnesty International in a new briefing.

The briefing, ‘Where are we supposed to go?’: Destruction and forced displacement in Kirkuk, highlights how hundreds of Sunni Arab residents, including many who fled fighting and insecurity in nearby governorates, have been expelled from Kirkuk. Many have been ordered to return to their places of origin or have been confined to camps after being suspected of assisting IS to co-ordinate the attack.

“The authorities in Kirkuk are undeniably facing a serious security threat, but that cannot justify bulldozing people’s homes and forcibly displacing hundreds of Arab residents. Many of those affected are people who have already been forced to leave their homes because of the violence engulfing the country. Now they are being forcibly displaced or made homeless yet again,” said Lynn Maalouf, Deputy Director for Research at Amnesty International’s Beirut regional office.

“Deliberate destruction carried out without military necessity is a war crime. Ordering the displacement of civilians … also is a war crime.”

Lynn Maalouf, Deputy Director for Research

In the aftermath of the surprise IS attack on eight different locations across Kirkuk on 21 October, many said they were ordered to leave the area and had their identity cards confiscated. Among those affected are an estimated 250 families who had previously been displaced from other governorates of Iraq and had sought safety and shelter in Kirkuk.

At least 190 families were also forcibly displaced by Kurdish Peshmerga and Asayish forces from the Qotan and Qoshkaya villages in the Dibis district of Kirkuk governorate. Most were moved to camps for internally displaced people or sought shelter with relatives in nearby villages. IS forces had attacked a power station in Dibis on 21 October killing 12 guards and employees.

“Forcibly evicting and displacing Sunni Arab residents of Kirkuk is unlawful and cruel. Kurdish authorities must immediately put an end to unlawful destruction of civilian property and forced displacement,” said Lynn Maalouf.

“Deliberate destruction carried out without military necessity is a war crime. Ordering the displacement of civilians – unless necessary for their own security or for reasons of imperative military necessity – also is a war crime.”

The briefing, based on interviews with community leaders, internally displaced people, residents, activists, and local politicians, is supported by photographic evidence of destruction and statements from officials.

“Muhayman”, whose name has been changed to protect his identity, a 40-year-old father of 10 from a village south-west of Kirkuk, has been forcibly displaced twice by Kurdish forces, first in 2015 and most recently on 25 October 2016. He described to Amnesty International how men in military uniform came to the Manshiya area of the Wahed Huzairan neighbourhood of Kirkuk city and ordered residents to leave by morning. Early the next day they were forcibly evicted and bulldozers demolished homes late into the night.

“I was ordered by Peshmerga out of my own village, so I built a home here… Now we are homeless again, and we are all sheltering with my brother. Where are we supposed to go?”

The neighbourhood, which had consisted of hundreds of houses, was razed to the ground leaving only around 10 homes standing, he said.

“Now we are homeless again, and we are all sheltering with my brother. Where are we supposed to go?”

A father of 10 from a village south-west of Kirkuk

“Ahmed” a resident of Kirkuk city, whose home was demolished on 25 October described chaotic scenes as residents rushed to save their possessions while tractors and bulldozers rolled into the neighbourhood. He said one of his neighbours was so distressed he shot himself after his home was demolished. Other residents interviewed by Amnesty International corroborated this account.

One man who fled from Diyala to Kirkuk in August 2014 with his family said security forces openly blamed him for the IS attack.

“We give martyrs to fight Daesh [Arabic acronym for IS] and you bring them here and harbour them in these houses,” they told him.

He was forced to go back to Diyala together with his relatives despite the well-documented pattern of unlawful killings and abductions of Sunni Arabs at the hands of militias there.

Publicly, the Governor of Kirkuk has committed not to return internally displaced people to areas still under IS control or where clashes are ongoing such as Mosul and the surrounding areas. International law and standards dictate that the return of displaced people to their homes must be voluntary.

Amnesty International has documented the repeated forced displacement and destruction of Arab homes and villages by Peshmerga forces, which continue to prevent residents of Arab villages and Arab residents of mixed Arab and Kurdish towns from returning to their homes.

“Instead of flouting international law by arbitrarily uprooting civilians from their homes, the Kurdish and Iraqi authorities should be offering protection to those who have already been displaced or are seeking shelter from the fighting. And they should facilitate the voluntary and safe return of those who wish to return to their homes,” said Lynn Maalouf.

Background

Kirkuk has been under the de facto control of the Kurdistan Regional Government since Iraqi government forces retreated from northern Iraq in June 2014 when IS captured large swathes of the country.

Attempts to forcibly return Sunni Arab internally displaced people and residents pre-date the IS attack on 21 October but have intensified since then.