VZCZCXYZ0003
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHGB #3666/01 2741443
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 011443Z OCT 06
FM AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD
TO RHEHWSR/WHITE HOUSE SITUATION ROOM WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
INFO RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/DIA WASHDC PRIORITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 003666 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/28/2016 
TAGS: IZ KDEM PGOV PHUM PINR PTER
SUBJECT: BAGHDAD'S AL BAYAA POLICE STATION 
 
BAGHDAD 00003666  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
Classified By: Classified by Joseph Gregoire, PRT Team Leader, for reas 
ons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: On September 19 Baghdad Provincial 
Reconstruction Team (PRT) officials revisited the Al Bayaa 
Police Station in  Baghdad.  Overall conditions at the police 
station have improved compared to two months ago, but major 
problems with trash buildup and vehicle maintenance remain. 
Recent MNF-I sweeps in the Rasalah area (covered by this 
station) resulted in an immediate drop in crime and violence, 
but police officials doubt that the drop will be sustainable. 
 Active police investigations are limited to trying to match 
bodies found in the street to missing person cases on file 
and the notification of family members owing to fear of 
reprisals.  Decreased investigations have led to fewer 
arrests:  46 prisoners were being held in the detention 
facility, down from 150 two years ago.  23 detainees have 
been held for over one year without trial.  Several detainees 
claimed to have been tortured or abused; others claimed 
rampant police corruption.  END SUMMARY. 
 
BAYAA POLICE STATION AND SECURITY IN THE DISTRICT 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
¶2. (SBU). The al-Bayaa Police Station and Detention Facility 
is located in the neighborhood of Doura, in the Rasheed 
district of south Baghdad.  The station is led by COL Sami 
Abdul Salam, who was promoted to station chief two months ago 
after serving at the station the past two years.  Salam has 
322 officers assigned under his command to cover an area of 
roughly 120 square kilometers (6 x 6 miles).  The estimated 
population within the station's boundary is roughly 260,000 
people.  Recent improvements at the station include the 
addition of two bunk houses, secure parking, and improvements 
to detention cells.  Trash removal is a significant problem: 
there is no regular removal and trash continues to pile up in 
the parking lot.  Vehicle maintenance is another issue. 
Twelve of 19 vehicles were operational at the time of the 
visit.  Salam expressed frustration about supply and 
maintenance of the station. 
 
¶3. (C) Of the 322 officers assigned, only four are 
investigative officers. According to one of them virtually no 
serious investigations are being conducted.  Hammed told PRT 
officials that 11 of the districts officers had been killed 
in the past two years and another 12 seriously wounded. 
Hammed explained that the investigators are afraid to look 
seriously into crimes or murders, since arresting the killers 
would result in retaliation against the arresting officer by 
the arrestee,s friends in the government or militias.  For 
the most part, investigations are limited to trying to match 
missing person reports to bodies found in the street and 
notifying the families.  Hammed lamented that this was not 
always the case, claiming that two years ago police routinely 
investigated crimes and made arrests, and the jail held at 
one time held as many as 150 prisoners awaiting trial. 
 
¶4. (C) Asked about the impact of the Coalition clearing 
operations being done as part of the Baghdad Security Plan, 
Salem replied that recent sweeps through Risalah have 
resulted in a significant drop in crime, although he 
predicted this would only be temporary.  Salem believes many 
criminals have simply moved to neighboring areas. 
 
CLAIMS BY DETAINEES OF ABUSE 
---------------------------- 
 
¶5. (C) PRT officials were allowed access to the detention 
facility co-located with the station and spoke with several 
of the 46 detainees being held.  Two detainees separately 
claimed they had been hooded and taken to another location in 
the station where they were hooked up to electrical wires and 
tortured to elicit confessions.  Several detainees asserted 
that they needed serious medical attention, some claiming to 
have constant itching and possible tuberculosis.  (COMMENT: 
Detention facility officials claimed that a coalition doctor 
visits the facility approximately every 10 days. END COMMENT) 
 
 
¶8. (C) Detainees also told PRT officials that bribery is 
rampant in the facility.  Almost anything can be had, they 
said, including freedom, for between USD 5,000 and 20,000. 
One claimed that a detainee could have his case presented to 
an investigative judge more quickly for USD 1,500, and 
another claimed that one could be taken to the hospital for 
treatment for USD 1,000. 
 
¶9. (C) Several detainees also complained that they had been 
held a long time without trial.  Detention facility officials 
confirmed to PRT officials that 23 of the 46 detainees had 
 
BAGHDAD 00003666  002.3 OF 002 
 
 
BEEN HELD OVER ONE YEAR WITHOUT TRIAL.  THEY CLAIMED THIS WAS 
OFTEN THE FAULT OF DETAINEES, WHO REFUSED TO PROVIDE 
INVESTIGATORS CORRECT IDENTIFICATION, MAKING IT DIFFICULT TO 
PURSUE THEIR CASES. 
 
 
 
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