Incident: Group of 4 Iraqi men arrested, beaten, tortured

A group of four Iraqi men are arrested in al-Najaf taken to the headquarters of the Emergency Response Units where Iraqi police, Iraqi National Guard, and US Marines are present. They were accused of being members of the Mahdi Army. Their stories will be included in a report entitled The New Iraq? Torture and ill-treatment of detainees in Iraqi custody, which will be released by Human Rights Watch in five month's time.

One identified only as Ali claims that the following incidents occurred.

• He was beaten severely with wood, cable and hose-pipes while US Marines stood by and watched.
• He observed that one of the other prisoners had had his fingernails removed and his arms broken.
• He was forced to insult the Shia holy places.
• Children between 15 and 17 years old were also detained with him.

All four men will present investigators with clear evidence of recent external trauma including bruising and lacerations.