Sulaymaniyah, Iraq—The Court of Cassation in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region (IKR) for the first time upheld the conviction and sentenced three police officers to imprisonment for committing torture, Heartland Alliance International (HAI) said.
HAI and its local partner, the Democracy and Human Rights Development Center (DHRD), resolved a landmark case concerning the arbitrary arrest and torture of a man falsely accused of theft through an appeal to the highest court in the IKR, the Court of Cassation. The court’s ruling, which upheld the conviction of three police officers of torture and their six-month imprisonment sentences, sets a precedent for bringing perpetrators of torture from government institutions to justice.
According to the plaintiff, a 36-year-old Kurdish man from Sulaymaniyah Governorate, four police officers visited his home on September 6, 2016, summoning him to the local police station due to outstanding fines and requested that he serve as a witness in an open case. Upon the plaintiff’s arrival at the police station, officers told him he was under arrest for burglary. The plaintiff rejected the accusation, at which point seven police officers blindfolded him and tortured him, hanging him for six hours, beating him with cables, and subjecting him to electric shocks, punches, and kicks. The police officers threatened that if he did not confess, he would spend ten years in prison. Upon the plaintiff’s release, two of the seven police officers visited the plaintiff’s house and threatened him with firearms, stating that if he tells others about the torture, or if he presses charges, they will kill him and his family.
On August 14, 2017, HAI’s legal partner, DHRD, accepted the case and represented the plaintiff. With the assistance of HAI and DHRD, prosecutors obtained approval from the investigative judge to file criminal charges against seven police officers. On November 6, 2017, the Sulaymaniyah Criminal Court found three out of the seven police officers guilty of torture and sentenced them to six months’ imprisonment in accordance with Article 333 of Iraq’s penal code. However, the court suspended the sentences due to the absence of prior criminal records of the convicted officers and ordered the release of the four other accused officers over lack of sufficient evidence. DHRD then appealed the decision at the Court of Cassation, the highest court in the IKR, which overturned the Criminal Court’s ruling and upheld the six-month imprisonment sentence. The Cassation Court reasoned that the police officers acted in an official capacity and violated the public’s trust.
Victims of torture in the IKR and federal Iraq face considerable obstacles in accessing justice. Victims often do not press charges out of fear of retribution. If the victim presses charges, particularly against a high official, the appropriate government institution often does not cooperate with the courts and thus the case never reaches trial. Additionally, if a case does reach trial, prosecutors and judges often exhibit bias toward law enforcement.
Although the sentences are very light, the Court of Cassation’s ruling in this case marks the first time that police officers anywhere in Iraq have been convicted of torture and held to account for their crimes. Furthermore, the court decision sets a precedent for lower courts to issue imprisonment sentences in future torture cases and contributes towards an improvement of public trust in the legal system.
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Heartland Alliance International (HAI) has been working in Iraq since 2004, helping victims of human rights abuses heal and obtain justice, and building the capacity of Iraqi human rights activists and organizations. HAI is active in torture prevention and treatment, gender-based violence and suicide prevention, human trafficking, juvenile justice reform, LGBT rights, mental health, refugee protection, and religious and ethnic minority rights. HAI is based in Iraqi Kurdistan, but is active throughout Iraq.
HAI works with Iraqi partners and civil society to promote adherence to the UN Convention Against Torture, working with the government of Iraq to ensure legal representation is provided to individuals who have been tortured by police or security forces, training local NGOs, and documenting the use of torture in jails. HAI’s work in preventing torture is supported by the US Department of State’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor.
