Firas Ali, an Iraqi political
activist, was detained at the office of the Federation of Workers’
Councils and Unions in Iraq, Baghdad, at about 2pm on 13 April. A
protester, Haidar Shihab Ahmad Abdel Latif, is believed to have been
detained on 1 April on Tahrir Square, Baghdad. Alaa Nabil, another youth
leader of the February 25 Group, was also arrested on April 8, and
remains in custody. It is feared that they and other detained activists
are at high risk of torture.

These days, Iraqi authorities feel free to carry out
arbitrary arrests, physical assault and torture of Iraqi citizens who
participate in peaceful demonstrations. In fact, they have begun to
recruit and utilize of the expertise of the masterminds who were part of
the horrific Baathist regime of Saddam.

The French army has bombed the residence
of Laurent Gbagbo, to "protect civilians" we are told. One is struck by
the wide variety of means used to achieve this so-called “humanitarian”
objective!