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Long Jailings Anger Iraqis
By Doug Smith and Raheem Salman LA Times Staff Writers
Sun May 29, 7:55 AM ET

ABU GHRAIB, Iraq — A year after the Abu Ghraib abuse scandal erupted, Iraqi anger has flared anew over the growing numbers of detainees held without charge at the notorious detention center and another prison in the south.

In the battle against the insurgency, U.S. military sweeps net many guerrillas, but also thousands of people whose offenses are nonexistent, minor or impossible to prove. They are often held for months, only to be released without explanation.

Long internments such as Farouq's have raised the ire of civil rights groups, Iraqi media outlets and some political leaders, who accuse the U.S. of being indiscriminant in its search for insurgents. Some have called for the immediate transfer of custody to Iraqi authorities.

"This is the Iraqi perception — let the Iraqi people judge them," said Ahmed M. Salih, a professor of linguistics at Tikrit University and spokesman for the governor of Salahuddin province, echoing a common theme. "The majority of Americans depend on bad information. They come immediately to arrest you without asking for more information."

Abbas Sweedi, head of the Iraqi Civil Society Commission, said his group was formed by 15 organizations "to stop the indiscriminate detention of the people."

He has urged street protests against the U.S. and Iraqi security forces, such as the elite Wolf Brigade, which has been accused of using torture to extract confessions from innocent people.

"We will stand against [the Wolf Brigade] or the American troops if there is any Iraqi who is detained without reason," he said.