Baghdad
Hundreds of Sunni Arabs rallied in Baghdad this week to protest the abuse and torture of detainees at a prison run by the Shiite-dominated Interior Ministry. The U.S. military said last week it had discovered 169 malnourished prisoners, mostly Sunnis, in a hidden bunker underneath the ministry building. Interior Minister Bayan Jabr, a Shiite, tried to downplay the report, saying that only seven of the men had been beaten or subjected to electrical shocks. “Nobody was beheaded or killed,” Jabr said. Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari, also a Shiite, promised a government investigation, but Sunni leaders are calling for a U.N.-led inquiry.
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