Drug convictions surpass terror-related charges in Iraq

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Drug-related incarcerations have surpassed terror cases in Iraq, according to the Ministry of Justice.

“Previously it was terrorism charges, but currently, unfortunately, there is a growth in drug crimes. This is the serious challenge facing the region in general and Iraq in particular,” Ahmad Laibi, spokesperson for the Ministry of Justice, told Rudaw on Wednesday when asked about the most common crimes.

There are currently approximately 68,000 people incarcerated in Iraq’s correctional facilities.

Of them, 10,000 to 15,000 were convicted on drug-related charges, both users and dealers, according to Laibi.

Traffickers and users are separated in prison and users are offered medical care to treat their addiction, he added.

Iraq is working to combat the growing threat from drugs. Authorities have dismantled international drug networks and arrested traffickers, some of whom have been sentenced to life in prison. Baghdad is also cooperating with other countries in combating drug trafficking.

The following is the full transcript of the interview:

Rudaw: Let's start with the General Amnesty Law. Does the ministry have accurate statistics on the number of prisoners released under this law so far?

Ahmed Laibi: Yes. To begin with, up to this moment I'm speaking with you, we have accurate statistics from all our correctional departments that all those released under the amnesty law up to this moment are 8,665 inmates who have been covered by the General Amnesty Law so far. The committees are working continuously day and night to increase these numbers and follow up with the Supreme Judicial Council on the release process.

I would like to inform you and the viewers that release operations are conducted through judicial orders issued by the Supreme Judicial Council after the inmate is covered by the General Amnesty Law. The Judicial Council is the authority responsible for determining whether they are covered by the amnesty law or not. Therefore, after a person is covered by the General Amnesty Law, we receive the decision of their inclusion under the amnesty law, then we contact the relevant authorities to ensure they are not wanted for another case under investigation, that the amnesty decision has gained final status so they can be released smoothly and quickly, because we see that the General Amnesty Law contributes significantly to reducing overcrowding in our correctional facilities.

Mr. Ahmad, the question here is who are those covered by the General Amnesty Law?

The Supreme Judicial Council determines who is covered, it is the responsible authority. The inmate submits a request to the Supreme Judicial Council or submits a request to the Iraqi Corrections Department, to our specialized committees, and we submit it to the designated courts. Those courts are the same ones that previously convicted the person, and these specialized committees coordinate with the Supreme Judicial Council on whether the inmate is covered by the amnesty law provisions or not. Therefore, the only responsible authority that determines who is covered or not is the Supreme Judicial Council when it examines the inmate's file, circumstances, crime implications, and the penal code. The Judicial Council is the only authority that can say whether this person is covered by the General Amnesty Law or not.

What is the total number of detainees in Iraqi prisons and how many of them have been convicted?

First, I hope we change the terminology. The term is how many prisoners are inside the correctional facilities, because we at the Ministry of Justice only receive people who have had a judicial ruling issued against them. We classify them according to classifications in our correctional facilities and they are placed in one of the correctional facilities. We have up to this moment approximately 68,000 inmates for various crimes, some for terrorist crimes and some for criminal offenses. We also have a system in place at the Ministry of Justice, which is the inmate management system that determines the type of crime, determines the inmate classification, and which department they're placed in. There's a prison file for this inmate from which we can know their fingerprints, date of entry into prison, release date, whether they're covered by penal conditions and conditional release or not, and the health status of this inmate. This system is spread across more than 28 correctional facilities throughout Iraq, which are the correctional facilities where Arab, foreign, and Iraqi prisoners are housed in all departments spread across Baghdad and the provinces.

What criminal charge accounts for the largest percentage of inmates?

Previously it was terrorism charges, but currently, unfortunately, there is a growth in drug crimes. This is the serious challenge facing the region in general and Iraq in particular. We at the Ministry of Justice have taken measures in classifying these by isolating inmates and establishing a hospital within our correctional facilities to treat those at risk of addiction, at the Central Karkh Hospital. Also, according to our classification, there is isolation of users from dealers. This issue has great importance because it relates to Iraqi national security and humanitarian processes.

Are statistics available about their numbers?

The statistics are tens of thousands, between 10 to 15 thousand between users and drug dealers. We operate professionally and transparently. The Minister of Justice approved the classification system within the correctional facilities, so each inmate is in a special section for the charge they were convicted of, and we also worked on classification within the same correctional facility to divide within this department. There are those classified as criminals, those classified as terrorists, those classified with other charges, those sentenced to 15 years, those sentenced to 5 years, and those sentenced to less. We do not want to put all inmates in one section or one place, and this is also from a security and humanitarian perspective.

What are the ministry's mechanisms for following up on the conditions of those released under the General Amnesty Law and ensuring they don't return to criminal activities?

We have the Comprehensive Care Department in the Iraqi Corrections Department, and this department initiates rehabilitation programs for inmates before their release for a period of time. This examines the circumstances under which the crime was committed and works toward eliminating extremist ideology and negative effects on the inmate, providing moral support, as well as providing job opportunities through workshops within our correctional facilities. We have workshops in our correctional facilities for carpentry, sewing, painting, and barbering. We can give this inmate a profession before they leave and integrate socially.

There are also visits by social workers to these inmates to integrate them socially with their families, because it's not right for an inmate to be covered by amnesty or released without us providing treatment against recidivism. This psychological and spiritual treatment prevents the return of this inmate, because we lived through an experience in 2016 when the amnesty law was enacted and after releasing many inmates, they returned again after committing crimes. But now we have precise follow-ups, we have mobile teams, and we have field teams to follow up on inmates' conditions in coordination with relevant authorities in the Ministry of Interior and other agencies, and with social workers in the Ministry of Justice and in the rehabilitation department in our ministry as well.

There are some criticisms that some of those covered by the amnesty were involved in serious crimes. How does the ministry respond to these concerns, and how does the ministry ensure that the general amnesty doesn't include those involved in terrorism or major corruption crimes?

We at the Ministry of Justice are a detention facility. Our main task is to receive the inmate after they are sentenced, to serve their sentence with us, and to provide them with a care program in terms of feeding, accommodation, and health programs. Whether an inmate or prisoner in our correctional facilities is covered by amnesty is determined by the judicial authorities in Iraq. The authority that issued a ruling on this convict is authorized and is the only legitimate body to issue an amnesty. I see that the judicial authority deals with extreme neutrality, deals with high professionalism, and deals according to procedures that consider the General Amnesty Law and the inmates covered by it according to its provisions, and it doesn't favor anyone at all.

The judicial authority is Iraq's safety valve. We see in the Ministry of Justice that the judicial authority is a safety valve for the Iraqi government and the political system in general. Therefore, all rulings issued by the judicial authority are according to data that fit the General Amnesty Law that was enacted by the Iraqi parliament.

What is the level of coordination and relationship in judicial matters between you and the Kurdistan Region?

Our brothers in the Kurdistan Region are an integral part of us. We deal with them transparently and with high professionalism. We have the Region's representation through which we deal with high transparency through powers of attorney, through enforcement rulings, and through inmates present in the Region. Inmates and prisoners in the Kurdistan Region fall under the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, so there is coordination with the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs in the process of visits, in the release process, and in the agreements concluded by the central Ministry of Justice to coordinate with the Ministry of Justice in the Region and the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs as well, through authenticating powers of attorney issued in the Region and enforcement rulings issued in the Region.

There is high coordination through the Kurdistan Region's representation in Baghdad, proceeding with high transparency. We have direct communication with the head of the representation on any pending issues, sometimes resolved by phone if there's some administrative routine. Therefore, there is very high coordination with the regional government and with the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs in the Region through these channels and through the good relationship that connects us with all officials in judicial matters and justice affairs in the regional government.

What are your plans to develop prisons and improve inmate conditions in accordance with international human rights standards?

We worked on the inmate reform system law, and this is very important. This has transparency and field follow-up for all inmates. Every inmate now in any of our correctional departments, their relatives can know their health status, the period they've spent in prison, the sentence issued against them, when they will be released, their fingerprints, the complete file, and which correctional department they're in. We have a health renaissance within correctional facilities, and in every correctional facility we have, there's an ambulance, a health center, and two wards in Karkh and Kindi to follow up on inmates' health conditions.

The minister of justice, through his tours and visits and his meeting with the minister of health, we coordinated health-wise with the Ministry of Health to provide medical staff and health professionals. The ministry is in the process of contracting doctors and health professionals from the Ministry of Health for field monitoring of health conditions for chronic diseases like cancer, skin diseases, and other diseases that inmates suffer from, in addition to our rehabilitation programs from the far south to Baghdad to our northern provinces.

There are rehabilitation programs and workshops to rehabilitate inmates and give them professions that the inmate can benefit from while in prison and that can provide income for them and their families. There are many things, as we seek through building correctional facilities throughout Iraq - and we have correctional facilities now - to accommodate inmates according to human rights standards in Wasit province, Amarah province, Maysan province, Nineveh, Diwaniyah, and Baghdad, and rehabilitating some parts of Baghdad Central Prison and adapting it according to human rights standards.

How many documents are related to the genocide file committed against the Yazidis?

This is an important and sensitive file. The Iraqi government pays much attention to this matter. We don't have accurate statistics, but the statistics are growing significantly. The exposure of any component of our Iraqi people, whether Shia or Sunni, Arabs or Kurds, Yazidis or Feyli Kurds or minorities, affects the Iraqi body and Iraqi blood. The Iraqi government pays great attention to this file and there is high-level coordination with the regional government regarding what Iraqi people's components were subjected to in terms of genocide, whether from the defunct regime and the dictatorial era represented by the dictatorial Baath Party and the ruling clique of the Baath gang, or from criminal gangs like Al-Qaeda terrorist organization and ISIS terrorist organization, and establishing a mechanism to uncover these crimes and reveal them to world public opinion and show the injustice committed towards the Iraqi people who confronted this terrorism that targeted these dear segments of the Iraqi people. Therefore, this file is growing and receiving great attention from the Iraqi government, from the minister, and from relevant authorities in the ministry. I promise you in a future meeting that I will bring comprehensive accurate statistics showing you everything that happened and everything the ministry has provided in this regard.

Do you have statistics on the number of detainees accused of committing genocide crimes against the Yazidis?

I don't have statistics available, but I can provide them to you in the future. However, they have received their just punishment and are in Ministry of Justice prisons. Be assured that the Iraqi judiciary has issued appropriate sentences to punish the convicts and not include them in any amnesty law or sentence reduction or even include them in the conditional release process that we work with.

Some families and relatives of victims, especially Yazidis, are calling for a special court or international court to try those accused of committing these serious crimes. What is your response? Is Iraq ready to establish such a court?

Courts and their establishment fall under the authority of the Supreme Judiciary, which knows best what's in Iraq's interest wherever it goes and in the interest of Iraqis who were subjected to injustice. Therefore, the Supreme Judicial Council is responsible for issuing such an order. We, in all international forums, have emphasized what the Yazidis, Feyli Kurds, and other components like Shias and all those who suffered injustice from terrorist organizations, who were subjected to targeted extermination.

What I want to clarify is that these terrorist organizations and dictatorial authorities that spread corruption in the land and in the country's resources and people, targeted this important fabric in a systematic and calculated way, not random targeting. When an important component of the Iraqi people who have inhabited Iraq for thousands of years is targeted, this is systematic targeting aimed at eliminating an important component and eliminating an important social fabric of Iraqi society.

Through international teams that recorded ISIS crimes, we clarified to them the magnitude of this tragedy that Iraqis suffered regardless of their sects and nationalities. In all our statistics and all our meetings with UN and international organizations and in our international forums in Geneva and elsewhere and in human rights forums, we show the magnitude of this crime and show what happened to the Iraqi people in terms of crimes, and show that all Iraqi blood - Arabs and Kurds, Sunnis and Shias, Feylis and Yazidis and others - their stance against terrorism is what protected the entire world. Iraqis, with this stance, were an impenetrable barrier to eliminating these organizations and preventing their danger from extending to neighboring countries and states.

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