Human Rights Watch says that Camp Honor prison in Iraq, under the control of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, is illegally arresting and torturing people. UPI/Olivier Douliery/Pool | License Photo

BEIRUT, Lebanon, May 15 (UPI) -- The Iraqi government continues to hold detainees incommunicado at a prison in the Green Zone that's supposedly closed, Human Rights Watch said.

In March 2011, the Iraqi government announced it closed the Camp Honor detention facility in the fortified Green Zone in Baghdad. Since October, however, Human Rights Watch alleges that an unknown number of detainees are still in the prison.


Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch, said Iraqi security forces are keeping detainees at Camp Honor incommunicado and without charge.

"The Iraqi government should immediately reveal the names and locations of all detainees, promptly free those not charged with crimes, and bring those facing charges before an independent judicial authority," he said in a statement from Beirut.

The most recent series of detentions occurred in late 2011, when Iraqi authorities rounded up scores of people thought to be loyal to the Baath Party of Saddam Hussein, and in March, ahead of the Arab League summit in Baghdad.

Human Rights Watch said it interviewed more than 35 former detainees and government officials who said they feared retribution should they come forward with specifics about the human rights situation in Iraq.

Human Rights Watch said lawmakers with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's State of Law party told the group there was no political motive behind the arrests.