Iraq: People held in Al-Jed’ah Centre subjected to torture and enforced disappearance after arrests – new investigation

Beatings, electric shocks and stress positions all commonplace Iraqis returned from Al-Hol detention camp in north-east Syria Authorities must act now before thousands more face similar violations Iraqis are being subjected to torture and other ill-treatment as well as enforced disappearance after being arrested in Al-Jed’ah Community Rehabilitation Centre in northern Iraq, Amnesty International said in a new investigation. Amnesty International documented the cases of eight people, including seven men and one woman, who were arrested in Al-Jed’ah Centre (also known as Jed’ah 1 Camp) in 2023 and 2024. Seven of them faced torture and other ill-treatment.Interviewees said that the torture included severe beatings, electric shocks, being forced into stress positions, and being forcibly submerged in water or having their heads covered with a plastic bag so that air supply was restricted. Family members said they observed obvious effects of torture on their relatives, such as broken fingers and dislocated shoulders. Many Iraqis have been transferred to Al-Jed’ah Centre from Al-Hol detention camp in north-east Syria, where tens of thousands are being arbitrarily detained as a result of their alleged links to the Islamic State (IS) armed group. Since 2021, an estimated 9,500 people have been returned to Iraq from Al-Hol. The Iraqi authorities are considering scaling up the return of Iraqis in Al-Hol – estimated at more than 18,000 – so that the vast majority are transferred by the end of 2027.