Iraqi justice minister speaks out

The Iraqi Justice minister, Abdul Hussein Shandal, spoke out yesterday strongly against the unlimited power of the occupying forces to detain Iraqis. This following the recent offensive in Tal Afar, and the news that Sunni leaders are calling for the release of thousands of Sunni men in US detention before the constitutional referendum.

In strong language, Shandal said that Multi National Forces had committed human rights abuses in their detentions in Iraq. He claimed that the immunity conferred on the invading forces by the UN Security Council resolution 1546 allows them continual and full immunity from prosecution.

And this, according to the Minister, compromises Iraqi sovereignty, and he complained that US suggestions that Iraqis had an equal say in detention are misleading.

Additionally, Minister Shandal spoke out against the detention of journalists by US forces.

Shandal, however, said journalists needed special protection and defended independent reporting from all sides, including from rebel-held areas. He insisted on journalists' right to film and interview Iraq's insurgents without fear of arrest or worse.

"In this time of conflict ... between terrorists and the army or Multinational Forces, the journalist comes to the fore.

"Full freedom should be given to journalists to take pictures and film in the field," he said. "Without images what would we know of history? ... We would know nothing."