Most Iraqi detainees 'arrested by mistake' By Frances Williams in Geneva Published: May 10 2004 20:57 | Last Updated: May 10 2004 20:57
Coalition military intelligence officers believed 70-90 per cent of Iraqi detainees were "arrested by mistake", according to a leaked Red Cross report on prisoner abuse, further details of which were disclosed on Monday.
The confidential report, given to the US and British governments in February but covering events in March to November last year, describes a pattern of indiscriminate arrests involving destruction of property and brutal behaviour towards suspects and their families.
Ill-treatment during capture was frequent and "appeared to go beyond the reasonable, legitimate and proportional use of force", the report said. Such behaviour "seemed to reflect a usual modus operandi by certain CF [coalition forces] battle groups".
The International Committee of the Red Cross said on Friday it had repeatedly, throughout last year, drawn these and other violations of international humanitarian law to the attention of the coalition forces and the prison authorities in Iraq.
