London, Mar. 11 (ANI): Torture of detainees by state security is pervasive in Iraq ten years after the fall of Saddam Hussein, according to a report by Amnesty International.
The report - "Iraq: a Decade of Abuses" - said that though American and British leaders cited the brutality and cruelty of Saddam Hussein's regime as a justification for overthrowing his regime, extreme abuse of prisoners has never ceased, reports The Independent.
Forced confessions are at the heart of the present legal system with prisoners being given life and death sentences on the basis of false statements extracted by torture, the report said.
The report further said that thousands of Iraqis are detained without trial or are serving prison sentences imposed after unfair trials, torture remains rife and continues to be committed with impunity, and the new Iraq is one of the world's leading executioners.
The government hanged 129 prisoners last years and holds 37,000 prisononers, of whom 21,000 have been sentenced.
The failure of the Iraqi government to end torture and its reliance on forced confessions has done much to erode its legitimacy, particularly in the eyes of the Sunni community.
The reports further stated that forced confessions are used as a political weapon. (ANI)
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