KRG's minister of labour acknowledges inmates at prisons were 'beaten', but 'perpetrators were punished'

The KRG minister of labour and social affairs, Kwestan Mohamad, during an interview with The New Arab, acknowledged that inmates in the ministry's reform prisons were subject to "beating", but she has "punished" the perpetrators "severely".

According to international and local rights groups, the authorities in the semi-autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq have a dark record for abusing basic human rights, freedom of speech, freedom of gathering and press.

Hundreds of teachers, civil society activists and journalists mainly from the Badinan area of Duhok province and other also provinces were arrested by the KRG security forces after a series of anti-government protests over unpaid salaries and poor public services in 2019 and 2020.  

"Torturing of prisoners is not allowed at any reform prison related to my ministry. initially, there were some cases of beating prisoners [at the KRG-run prisons], all those who tortured the prisoners were severely punished," Mohamad, who is from the Kurdish Change Movement (Gorran) and one of the few woman ministers in the current KRG cabinet of PM Masrour Barzani, told TNA in an online interview.   

Tens of Kurdish journalists and activists, most of whom have been sentenced for "endangering national security" on what many view are politically-motivated charges are currently being kept behind bars and have served two-thirds of their prison terms at the Adult Reform Prison in Erbil administered by KRG ministry of labour and social affairs.

The prisoners launched a hunger strike on 19 July asking the Kurdish judiciary for conditional release.  On 1 September, the KRG general attorney refused the prisoners' demands.

The prisoners then broke their hunger strike and asked the ministry of labour to transfer them to Sulaymaniyah reform prison which is run by another Kurdish ruling party, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK).

Defence lawyers and relatives of the prisoners previously told TNA that the prison authorities have denied the prisoners right to meet with their lawyers and loved ones.

However, on her part Mohamad refuted that claim. "There are weekly family visits for the prisoners at all our reform prisons, we did not deny any prisoner from family visits," she said. 

"Conditional or unconditional release of prisoners is not related to our ministry, it is related to the Kurdistan Judiciary Council and the courts. We have sent all legal dossiers of the prisoners to the general prosecution, whenever it decides to free them, we will take measures for their immediate release," the KRG minister said.

Inmates, lawyers and rights groups in July told TNA that the health conditions are deteriorating for fifty-two Kurdish journalists and activists in Erbil, dominated by Barzani's Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP).

The minister refused to answer questions on the health conditions of the prisoners at the Adult Reform Prison in Erbil, and whether she would accept the demand to transfer the inmates to Sulaimaniyah.  She also acknowledged that two prisoners died of cholera at Sulaimaniyah reform prison when the outbreak severely hit the province in June.

The minister during an interview with her part's satellite channel, KNN  last month said that they have confiscated drones that were used to transfer drugs to rich inmates at some of the ministry's prisons.

She also said that inside some of the prisons, rich and powerful mafias have created small rooms of PVC for the purpose of committing "sexual immorality". 

In answering a question about this incident from TNA, the minister said that the breaches occurred during the previous KRG cabinets, and she has formed an investigation committee and punished all those prison officials involved.

The Iraqi Kurdistan region which currently exports nearly 480,000 barrels of oil per day independently from the Iraqi federal government in Baghdad, witnesses a high unemployment rate and delay in paying the KRG civil servants.

The minister indicated that unemployment rates are related to the KRG ministry of planning and her ministry has been able to create 5,466 job opportunities for the youth in the region's private sector.