December 10, 2003	Wednesday	Shawwal 15, 1424

BAGHDAD: The arrests of the wife and daughter of a former Saddam Hussein deputy violate international law and raise questions about the United States’ ability to highlight human rights abuses by other countries, experts and rights monitors say.

US forces detained Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri’s relatives in a Nov 26 raid in the central Iraqi city of Samarra. A longtime Saddam aide, al-Douri has been blamed for organizing guerrilla attacks on US troops and the arrests seemed intended to pressure al-Douri into surrendering or to gather information that might lead to his capture. Human rights groups condemned the detentions, saying family members should not be used as “bargaining chips” in the hunt for Iraqi fugitives.

A spokesman for the 4th Infantry Division, which carried out the arrests, described the detentions as “similar to (those of) a material witness” who is held for questioning. “The initial detention had to do with the fact they were material to the issue of seeking Mr al-Douri,” said the spokesman, who asked not to be named.

But a number of experts say there is no basis in international law for such detentions and that they violate the Fourth Geneva Convention, which guarantees rights for people under occupation and outlines the responsibilities of the occupying power. “No protected person may be punished for an offence he or she has not personally committed,” the convention says. “Collective penalties and likewise all measures of intimidation or of terrorism are prohibited.”

Arresting a relative to get information on the whereabouts of a wanted person, or to put pressure on the fugitive to turn himself in, also violates the UN International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, said John Quigley, an international law professor at Ohio State University. “Under human rights law, there is a principle that arrest cannot be arbitrary,” he said.

US forces have detained other relatives of wanted Iraqi officials to try to glean information from them or negotiate a surrender, a defence official said in Washington. The official said they have all been released within a short period of time if investigators determine they are not involved in attacks on Americans.

These relatives were detained “to see whether or not they’ve been involved in any activities, to see whether or not they have any information they’re willing to share to lead us to the actual target,” the official said. “As far as I know, in all cases when we’ve arrested family members, we’ve detained them for some bit of time and then released them ... They’re detained, questioned and released.”

Quigley said the practice clearly violates the Geneva Convention and the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which the United States has signed.

Human rights groups also are raising alarms. “At a minimum, the US should clarify on what legal basis the wife and daughter of Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri have been detained,” said Alistair Hodgett, media director for Amnesty International USA. “Individuals should not be used as bargaining chips, held solely to barter for information.”

The arrests have broader implications for US foreign policy. Washington had frequently criticized the former Soviet Union and its Eastern Bloc satellites for arbitrary arrests and for using relatives to exert pressure on fugitives and political prisoners. In its latest report on human rights conditions around the world, the State Department singled out several countries, including Uzbekistan, Pakistan and Syria, for using such tactics to pressure people to surrender or to force confessions.

By adopting similar tactics in Iraq, experts say the United States risks losing a moral high ground. “It makes it difficult for the US to criticize other countries when it undertakes detentions of this sort that so clearly exceed what is permitted by law,” Quigley said.

US military officials have singled out al-Douri as a force behind recent attacks on American troops. But some Iraqi officials say al-Douri has leukemia and is likely expending most of his energies on avoiding capture. Under Saddam, al-Douri served as vice chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council, the second most powerful post in Iraq — at least on paper.

Last month, the United States offered a $10 million reward for in information leading to al-Douri’s capture or killing, making him the second most wanted man after Saddam, who has a $25 million bounty on his head. —Dawn/The LAT-WP News Service (c) The Washington Post.