human rights' abuses in iraq: shadows of hussein

msnbc reports human rights abuses in iraq

'Continuity of personnel and of mindset'
Hania Mufti, the Baghdad director of Human Rights Watch and chief author of the report, said she did not find examples of abuses that were on a par with the worst atrocities committed under Hussein's rule, such as mock executions, disfigurement with acid or sexually assaults on family members in front of prisoners. But in many other respects, she said, treatment of those swept up by police had changed little.

"Many of the same people who worked in Saddam's time are still doing those jobs today. So there is a continuity of personnel and of mindset," she said in an interview. "I think the Iraqi people themselves thought there was going to be a different system. Every day, they are finding it is not so different."

The report also says authorities made a mockery of legal safeguards. People said they were arrested without warrants and held without charges for days, weeks or months. Police officials ignored summonses from judges, and judges who became too demanding of authorities were removed from their jobs.

"people said" runs throughout this article. the human rights group seldom mentions witnessing human rights abuses. now, i am not saying that they are not occurring, but the report provides little direct evidence except the removal of judges and an incident in which u.s.a. troops intervened in ending mistreatment of detainees...