June 12, 2006

Prisoners freed by U.S. troops recently have spoken of violations and torture at the hands of their U.S. jailers.

The new government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has promised to free 3,500 prisoners in coordination with the U.S. occupation troops.

The move is seen as a conciliatory gesture by the Prime Minister who has promised to free all inmates, whether in Iraqi or U.S. custody, unless convicted of a crime.

Iraqi human rights monitors estimate that tens of thousands of prisoners languish in Iraqi and U.S. jails.

One prisoner, released recently and refusing to be named, said U.S. jailers "used humiliation techniques and resorted to torture and violated prisoner rights."

Another said U.S. jails are crowed and the jailers "put 50 inmates in cages less than 50 square meters."

"You could be confined to a solitary cell for no reason," one prisoner said.

The prisoners said jails run specifically by U.S. troops lacked bathrooms.

"Conditions are subhuman and the inmates face torture. They are subjected to heating in summer and cooling in winter. Mass punishment is normal," a prisoner said.

Vice-President Tareq al-Hashemi said U.S. troops had freed 230 prisoners so far while the Iraqi authorities have released 183.