Iraqi rights abuses 'increasing'

BBC

Reports of killings and torture by the Iraqi government and its agents increased in 2005, a US report says.
The state department's annual report says Iraqi police abuses included threats, intimidation and beatings, as well as the use of electric shocks.

China, North Korea, Burma, Iran, Zimbabwe, Cuba and Belarus are named as among the worst human rights offenders.

The report does not mention the US treatment of detainees in Iraq, Afghanistan or Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Washington has come under strong international criticism for its treatment of prisoners and has faced calls from the UN to shut down the Guantanamo detention camp.

The report acknowledges that the US's "own journey toward liberty and justice for all has been long and difficult, and it is far from complete".

The report highlights abuses by Iraq's security forces, describing "a climate of extreme violence in which people were killed for political and other reasons".

The worst abuses against prisoners were carried out by police but the military was also a violator, the report says.

In particular, the document mentions "suspension by the arms or legs, as well as the reported use of electric drills and cords".

It adds: "The ongoing insurgency, coupled with sectarian and criminal violence, seriously affected the government's human rights performance."