Posted on 12/16/2008 3:57:34 PM PST by SandRat
Baghdad – Multi-National Force – Iraq’s Task Force 134 – Detainee Operations transferred custody of 39 high-value detainees who were former members of the regime of Saddam Hussein to the Government of Iraq, Monday, Dec. 15.
The detainees were all transferred from the Coalition theater internment facility at Camp Cropper in Baghdad to an Iraqi-controlled prison. These detainees are all either already convicted or are scheduled to stand trial in the Central Criminal Court of Iraq.
The detainees had been held in U.S. detention since their capture. Their recent transfer is in recognition that the Iraqi criminal courts and prison systems have become sufficiently robust to safeguard and prosecute these individuals in accordance with the rule of law.
Currently, there are about 15,500 detainees in Coalition theater internment facilities, down dramatically from the high of about 26,000 in November 2007. Since the start of 2008, nearly 18,000 detainees have been released to their families and communities throughout Iraq.
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