Sepcial Report: Tension accelerates in Iraq
BAGHDAD, July 8 (Xinhua) -- The Iraqi
government and the U.S. military released 368 Iraqi detainees on Saturday from
the Abu Ghraib prison as part of a national reconciliation plan aimed at curbing
sectarian violence, a Justice Ministry official said.
The latest batch of released prisoners brought the
total number of detainees set free from Iraqi and U.S.-run prisons across Iraq
to 2,721 during the past month, more than the 2,500 promised by Iraqi Prime
Minister Nuri al-Maliki to release, Deputy Justice Minister Busho Ibrahim said.
The detainees were released after a joint U.S. and
Iraqi committee reviewed their cases, Ibrahim added.
Sources from the U.S.-led multi-national forces in
Iraq said that the detainees were not convicted of serious or violent crimes
such as explosions, torture, abductions or killings, adding that they had vowed
to refrain from violence before being freed.
According to the Iraqi Human Rights Ministry, a total
of 28,700 detainees are currently being held in Iraqi and U.S. prisons across
the country till April 30.
Iraqi Prime Minister Maliki, a Shiite, has described
the release of prisoners as an important move to reach national reconciliation
and widen political participation of all the Iraqi factions, particularly Sunni
Arabs who form the backbone of insurgency against U.S. troops and the
U.S.-backed Iraqi government. Enditem
Related: Iraq releases over 450 detainees for
national reconciliation
BAGHDAD, June 27
(Xinhua) -- More than 450 Iraqi detainees were released on Tuesday from Abu
Ghraib prison as part of a national reconciliation plan aimed at curbing
sectarian violence in the war-torn country, a Justice Ministry spokesman said.
The release brought to more than 2,500 the number of detainees freed during
the past month.
According to sources from the Multi-National forces in Iraq, the detainees
were not convicted of serious or violent crimes such as explosions, torture,
abductions or killings. Full
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