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Iraqi Islamic Party Leader Released
The US military has released Muhsin Abd al-Hamid, the leader of the Iraqi Islamic Party. The IIP runs the provincial council in Anbar and is the only major Sunni Arab religious party that has generally been willing to cooperate with the Americans. Abd al-Hamid served on the American-appointed Interim Governing Council.
His arrest had provoked major protests.
Reader Sally Quinn kindly sends a translation of a French report from Le Monde via Reuters/AFP:
"The Islamic Party, in a communiqué, demanded an explanation for the raid on the Baghdad residence of its leader as well as an official apology. "They must also release two of this three sons, Mokdad and Assayed, who are still beikng held along with several houseguests and bodyguards, said the party without indicating their numbers . . . Although critical of the current Shi'a-dominated government, the Islamic Party has not excluded its participation in the drafting of the permanent Constitution . . . recently the party has taken a position against the blind violence
targeting the populace and the security forces while criticizing the arrest of Sunni
clerics, the warhorses of the powerful Committee of Iraqi Ulema, which refuses to
participate in negotiations surrounding the drafting of the Constitution . . . Following his release, Mr. Abdel Hamid underscored the humiliation to which he was subjected by US soldiers, saying that they handcuffed him and interrogated him for hours."
Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari and President Jalal Talabani complained bitterly about the US action and apparently were not consulted about the arrest. They pointed out that the US keeps saying it wants to involve the Sunni leadership, but that arrests like this one just drive away even the moderates. The initial reports also talked about US troops confiscating money. Basically they kicked down his door, rifled through his things, hooded him, and dragged him away. There was no arrest warrant, no consultation with the supposedly sovereign Iraqi government, and apparently no knowledge of who Abd al-Hamid really is.
Susan Hu is leading a good discussion of the SNAFU over at Daily Kos. I've been watching CNN for hours and there is nothing about this.
A keen observer of Iraq's legal and economic scene writes in with regard to whether the US military was legally justified in arresting Abd al-Hamid in the first place.
"Discretion may be the better part of valour, but it is quite clear:
For starters, there is this:'Article 15.
(B) Police, investigators, or other governmental authorities may not violate the sanctity of private residences, whether these authorities belong to the federal or regional governments, governorates, municipalities, or local administrations, unless a judge or investigating magistrate has issued a search warrant in accordance with applicable law on the basis of information provided by a sworn individual who knew that bearing false witness would render him liable to punishment. Extreme exigent circumstances, as determined by a court of competent jurisdiction, may justify a warrantless search, but such exigencies shall be narrowly construed. In the event that a warrantless search is carried out in the absence of an extreme exigent circumstance, the evidence so seized, and any other evidence found derivatively from such search, shall be inadmissible in connection with a criminal charge, unless the court determines that the person who carried out the warrantless search believed reasonably and in good faith that the search was in accordance with the law.'
The National Emergency Law makes clear that only “government officials” may arrest people. (Even if that were not clear, the requirement of a “court order” would seem unambiguous. Could there possibly be a constitution-type law that says that a court order is required for “government officials,” but anyone else, willy-nilly, who has colorable authority from somewhere else can “arrest” people?)
As far as Iraqi law is concerned, there is no question, and any question there might be could be resolved by an act of the National Assembly.
The authority of the MNF derives from SCR 1546 and an alleged “partnership,” with respect to which there is no partnership agreement (normally legally fatal), which authorizes “all necessary measures,” but one would have to ask the members of the Security Council what that would mean in the current context.
As to whether a Security Council resolution is superior to a national interim “constitution,” I leave for another day. Strict constructionists like Senator Coleman might think not."
"This morning coalition forces detained and interviewed Muhsen Abd al-Hamid. Following the interview it was determined that he was detained by mistake and should be released," a statement issued by the US military said on Monday.
The potentially damaging mistake took place against a backdrop of pervasive sectarian mistrust, made even worse by a double bombing earlier in the day in Hilla, a predominantly Shia city south of Baghdad, that left least 27 Iraqis dead and more than 118 wounded, according to Aljazeera.
Iraqi President Jalal Talabani had called for the immediate release of the leader of Iraq's main Sunni party, Islamic Party, a statement from his office said.
Abd al-Hamid and his three sons were hooded and detained at his home by US forces on Monday morning.
"President Talabani expressed his surprise and unhappiness at the arrest of the leader of the Islamic Party and called for his immediate release," it said.
"The Presidential Council has not been consulted ... and feels that treating a political personality of this level in such an arbitrary way is unacceptable."
Mistreated?
Abd al-Hamid was arrested at 4am at his home in the al-Khadra district, in western Baghdad, along with his sons Yassir, Muqtad and Assyad, an Islamic Party official Alaa Makki said.
Abd al-Hamid's wife, Muhsin Abd al-Hamid Awatif Ibrahim, told Aljazeera that the US forces ransacked the house.
"They stormed the house, arrested Dr Muhsin and three of our sons, Miqdad, a first Secretary at the Foreign Ministry, and Yasir, Deputy Head of the Sunni Waqf [endowments]. They took their mobile phones and some money from the house," she said.
"They have scattered all the contents of my house, and took our money, jewellery and our ID cards and passports," she added.
"They even wanted to arrest me too, but I told them I had leukaemia so they left me," she said.
No reason was given for the arrest, and the US military in Baghdad was not immediately able to confirm the incident.
Low point
Makki slammed the arrest as "a low point in the history of Americans in Iraq".
He said more than 200 members of the party were currently being held without charge in US detention centres in the country.
All the more surprising, Makki added, was that the action came a day after Iraqi government spokesman Laith Kubba had welcomed a statement by the Sunni party against violence threatening the country's fledgling democracy and social fabric.
The statement had also warned the government against transforming security forces into an instrument of repression under the control of Shia Muslims who now dominate the political scene.
Hilla blasts
Earlier on Monday, two bombers blew themselves up among crowds of Iraqis in Hilla, leaving at least 27 dead and more than 118 wounded, according to Aljazeera.
Police said the first attacker, strapped with explosives, detonated his bomb among Iraqis waiting at a medical centre where police, army and civil service recruits had compulsory check-ups before being hired.
The second bomber blew himself up among a crowd of police commandos demanding higher wages. The Polish military controls the area around Hilla.
The al-Qaida's network in Iraq claimed responsibility for the bombings in separate statements posted on the Internet.
"You just can't count the dead because the bodies were torn apart," said one Iraqi man surveying the scene. "May God punish those who did this."
Body parts lay in pools of blood on the street beside discarded sandals and shoes. Workers carried shredded bodies on stretchers and sheets and loaded them onto the back of pick-up trucks.
Fighters opposed to the presence of foreign troops in Iraq have increased attacks over the past month, killing more than 700 Iraqis since a new cabinet was announced on 28 April.
In February, a bomb in Hilla killed 125 Iraqis - the deadliest single attack since Saddam Hussein was toppled in March 2003.
Aljazeera + Agencies
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/6779B776-EA32-44AC-94AB-088258872169.htm
Hours later, the US military said the detention was made "by mistake" and released Abdel Hamid, who rejected the US explanation and told Al-Jazeera it was up to the Islamic Party to decide how to respond to the "insult".
"This morning coalition forces detained and interviewed Mohsen Abdel Hamid. Following the interview it was determined that he was detained by mistake and should be released," a statement issued by the US military said, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP).
"Coalition forces regret any inconvenience and acknowledge Mr. Hamids cooperation in resolving this matter."
Islamic Party Secretary General Tariq Al-Hashimi told a press conference that US troops broke into Abdel Hamid’s house, placed a plastic bag over his head, and arrested three of his sons along with five bodyguards.
The occupation troops opened fire, injuring one of the bodyguards, he added.
“One of the officer told Abdel Hamid through an interpreter: ‘why didn’t participate in the election? This is your fate.’”
The Islamic Party, the leading Sunni political party in Iraq , quit the January general elections race days before the voting protesting deteriorating conditions in the country.
Abdel Hamid’s wife told Al-Jazeera news channel the American troops took money, gold jewelry, passports and other valuables.
"They wanted to take me along but backtracked when I told them that I suffer from diabetes," she added.
Asked whether Iraqi troops were involved, she said they stood outside while the Americans raided the house.
Hashimi said the party holds the US occupation troops and the new Iraqi government responsible for the safety of Abdel Hamid, his sons and his bodyguards.
“We demand an official apology from the US occupation troops for this unprecedented incident,” he said.
The US occupation authorities have not yet given the reason behind the arrest of Abdel Hamid, a one-time president of the now-defunct US-sanctioned Interim Governing Council.
Marginalizing Sunnis
Sunni leaders said the arrest at an attempt derail earnest Sunni efforts to preserve Iraq ’s unit and join the country’s political landscape.
“What happened is part of the pressures exercised on the party,” Iyad Al-Samarri, a senior Islamic Party leader, told IslamOnline.net.
“Some bodies want to throw a spanner in the political wheel.”
The Islamic Party was among several Sunni Arab groups that formed this month an alliance of religious, political and social groups to streamline their political participation and unify the ranks of all Sunnis, whether Arabs, Turkomans or Kurds.
Al-Samarri's statements were echoed by Adnan Al-Dulaimi, the chairman of the Sunni Waqfs.
“It seems as if some bodies were working on shelving the Sunni community, when Sunni are mulling co-drafting the constitution and joining the police and army ranks,” he told the same press conference.
“Before the January election, we witnessed the deadly Fallujah raid, and now we witness killings, arrests and deportations of Sunnis. We must take an immediate action to address the current crisis and head off a looming sectarian strife.”
In November, some10 , 000 US marines and army forces, alongside some2 , 000Iraqi national guardsmen unleashed a long-expected onslaught on the resistance hub of Fallujah. The massive offensive killed hundreds of Fallujans and displaced up to300 ,000.
“It breaks my heart to see a Sunni leader arrested along with his sons and bodyguards, with his head placed in a plastic bag,” said Dulaimi, also the spokesman for the Sunni Congress.
He called on the United Nations, the Arab League and foreign embassies in Iraq to press for the release of Abdel Hamid.
“We further urge the government to create an optimal atmosphere for a successful democratic process in the country. We are really in a dire need of unison at such a critical juncture to safeguards Iraq ’s unity and liberation.”
Abdel Hamid’s arrest came tow days after the Iraqi troops launched the Operation Lightning security crackdown to seal off Baghdad with40 , 000troops.
Islamic Party’s senior leader Iyad Al-Ezzawi had lambasted the operation as “a sectarian war launched by the new state on the Sunni Arabs”.
http://islamonline.org/English/News/2005-05/30/article04.shtml
Mohsen Abdul-Hamid, leader of the Iraqi Islamic Party, was arrested at his home in Baghdad by U.S. troops earlier on Monday, his party said. He was later released.
"The prime minister has ordered an investigation into the arrest," spokesman Laith Kubba told Reuters.
"We believe there are parties that are benefiting from such raids on prominent Sunni leaders who have been supporting the political process and democracy in Iraq.
"This is the fourth time that a Sunni leader has been arrested," he added, saying he did not think the troops who arrested Abdul-Hamid knew his background.
Jaafari described the arrest as a mistake. "So far we have no explanation as to what happened, we are following up to know how this mistake was made," he told a news conference.
Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, also denounced the detention, describing it as unacceptable.
"The presidency was not consulted about this," Talabani said in a statement. "I consider treating a prominent political leader such as Abdul-Hamid in this way unacceptable."
The politician's relatives said U.S. troops broke down the door of the family home and put a bag over Abdul-Hamid's head before taking him away.
The Iraqi Islamic Party withdrew from the January elections, saying violence in Sunni areas meant the polls would not be fair. But it has signalled it is ready to take a greater role in Iraqi politics and the writing of a constitution.
The arrest of such a prominent Sunni Arab politician when tensions are soaring between Iraqi's Shi'ite majority and the Sunni Arab minority is a potential spark for further conflict.
"The U.S. administration claims it is interested in drawing Sunnis into the political process but it seems that their way of doing so is by raids, arrests and violating human rights," the Iraqi Islamic Party said in a statement on Monday.
Adnan al-Dulaimi, head of the Sunni Endowment, an umbrella Sunni group, warned the arrest could cause problems.
"At a time we seek to calm things in Iraq ... we find acts that try to deter our efforts as if there is a hidden hand that seeks to marginalise the Sunnis," he told a news conference.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L3029728.htm
Talibani said in a statement that the presidency council was not consulted over the arrest of Abdul Hamid, and considered dealing with this dignitary figure in such an unorganized way as an unacceptable matter.
The Kurdistani Islamic Union deplored the detention operation and called for the release of Abdul Hamid immediately. He stressed that this act would not serve the security condition, rather will be damaging the political process for building the new democratic Iraq and plays to the interests of terrorist attacks. The Higher Council For The Islamic Revolution In Iraq expressed, on behalf of the prominent figure in it Ammar al-Hakim, its regret and denunciation for the detention operation. Hakim said that this measure against a prominent figure is not acceptable.
Earlier the secretary general of the Iraqi Islamic party Tareq al-Hashimi called for immediate release of Abdul Hamid and his three sons who were detained with him. He held the American forces and the Iraqi government the responsibility for their safety.
The American forces broke into the house of the chairman of the Islamic party Mohsin Abdul Hamid on Monday at dawn in the Green Zone in Baghdad and detained him together with his three sons, many of his guards and confiscated a sum of money.
Member of the party's political bureau Ala' Mekke said that the soldiers who carried out the detention operation broke the windows of the house of Abdul Hamid and mistreated him and his sons. He stressed that the American soldiers did not hesitate in putting a bag over his head. He also described these acts of arrest as "a black point in the history of the Americans in Iraq."
Later, the American army announced in a statement that it had released the chairman of the Iraqi Islamic party Mohsin Abdul Hamid after it had announced his detention was made mistakenly yesterday at dawn.
The statement said that the interrogation operation of Abdul Hamid was completed and that he is in his way home, adding that the American forces apologize for any harm made against him.
Abdul Hamid told al-Jazeera after his release that the American forces treated him in a humiliating way. He was taken with his eyes covered and hand tightened and that he was interrogated about his party's policy and his links to gunmen.
Abdul Hamid rejected the apology given by the American forces. He said that everyone knows the location of his house, regretting the justifications given by the American forces to that. He added that his party will not stop demanding the pull out of the occupation forces from Iraq and called on the Iraqi government to defend his dignity and to restore back his insulted honor.
Meantime, Iraqi and American forces detained a former officer in the Iraqi army described by one American statement as part of the intelligence network of the former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and that he had led several groups of what he called the rebels. The multi national forces did not disclose the identity of the army officer but said he was detained with another person."
http://www.arabicnews.com/ansub/Daily/Day/050531/2005053101.html