Hashemi visits overcrowded jails; Says 'You are lucky to be here... at least you have security' but promises 'we will not accept this injustice'

Above: A screen grab from a video of Hashemi's visit yesterday, where many pleaded innocence and said they had been denied trials.

Iraq's Sunni Arab vice president promised better treatment for detainees on Saturday and released pictures from inside a Baghdad prison camp that showed hundreds of inmates packed into tented wire-mesh cages.

The rare video pictures from inside an Iraqi prison were released by the office of Sunni Arab Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi, who visited the Rusafa prison compound in eastern Baghdad with his Shi'ite counterpart.

The footage showed row upon row of outdoor tents made of wire mesh and covered with white plastic sheeting, each about the size of a basketball court and housing dozens of inmates.

Prisoners, some stripped to their waists, pressed up against the mesh walls and shouted their innocence. Some chanted Saddam-era Iraqi nationalist slogans.

"I have been jailed for two years and have never been put before a judge or court!" shouted one prisoner.

"We are not asking for food or water. Just free us. We have committed no crimes!" said another.
Hashemi told the prisoners that the authorities were working to speed up their cases.

"We will not accept this injustice. It is a shame on all of us. Be patient," he said. "All of your cases will be heard."

At one point he added: "You are lucky to be here. At least you have security. Those outside do not even have security."

Read the rest at Reuters/Alternet

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