U.S.-led task force helps the Iraqi court system get back to work

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This Iranian woman is one of eight females being held at a detention facility in al Kut. Three of the women have been convicted and five are awaiting trial. U.S. officials say mixing people awaiting trial, some for minor crimes, with convicts is a major problem in Iraqi detention facilities.


U.S.-led task force helps the Iraqi court system get back to work
By Ashley Rowland, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Monday, February 2, 2009

NUMANIYAH, Iraq — Shortly after the electricity flickered off inside the crumbling courthouse, the judge sat in his office and warily answered some questions. The only light came from a window behind him.

What’s your relationship with the police like? Very good, he said. Do the police investigators follow through on their orders? Yes.

Do the police have the investigative skills that judges need? Here, the judge paused.

"I think for the forensic cases, they need a lot of help," he said through an interpreter. "Especially the DNA cases."

Until recently, using DNA as evidence in Iraqi court was unheard of. So was the idea of Iraqi judges and police investigators cooperating on a case, since the two groups were often at odds under former dictator Saddam Hussein’s regime.


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=60418%2e