Rights group seeks role in Iraqi abuse case

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http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N07110257.htm

NEW YORK, May 7 (Reuters) - The U.S. government should let human rights groups monitor detention facilities in Iraq and elsewhere in an effort to stop the type of abuse suffered by Iraqi prisoners, Human Rights Watch said on Friday.

In an open letter to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, the New York based group called on the Bush administration to reveal the locations of such facilities and permit independent investigations of all places where security or terrorist suspects are being held.

"Torture flourishes in the dark," Executive Director Kenneth Roth said in response to pictures of U.S. troops torturing Iraqis in a Baghdad jail that have sparked outrage and prompted an apology from President George W. Bush.

"If the Bush administration really wants to put a stop to torture in U.S. detention facilities, it has to open them up to outside scrutiny," Roth added.

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