Iraq and Kurdistan’s regional government have charged hundreds of children with terrorism for alleged affiliation with Islamic State after forced confessions obtained through torture, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Wednesday.
In December 2017, Iraq announced it had retaken all its territory that had been under Islamic State control after a U.S.-backed campaign of over three years.
The group said Iraq and Kurdistan’s authorities arrest and prosecute children with any perceived connection to Islamic State,
“use torture to coerce confessions and sentence them to prison in hasty and unfair trials.’’
It criticised authorities for using “deeply flawed screening processes’’ to detain children without checking whether they are involved with the extremist group or the extent of that involvement.
“This sweeping, punitive approach is not justice, and will create lifelong negative consequences for many of these children,” said Jo Becker, children’s rights advocacy director for Human Rights Watch.
Iraqi children arrested said they were afraid to return to their homes because their arrest automatically brands them as affiliated with Islamic State and makes them vulnerable to revenge attacks, Human Rights Watch said.
“This stigma can lead to permanent separation from their family and community,’’ the rights group said, as it estimates that Iraqi and Kurdistan authorities were holding around 1,500 children for alleged Islamic State affiliation in detention at the end of 2018.
In January, HRW accused Kurdish forces in northern Iraq of torturing children who are charged or convicted of Islamic State affiliation, a charge that was denied by authorities.
NAN
