By DPA
Baghdad : Women in Iraqi detention facilities suffer from lack of proper healthcare, according to a statement by the office of Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi.
During a visit to the Kazimiya women’s prison, al-Hashimi had encountered a situation described as “complicated and tragic”.
Al-Hashimi said that the manner of arrests, where some were ethnic-driven, and the services in prison, especially regarding access to healthcare and medicines, were dire.
The statement added that two female prisoners already lost their lives because of health complications resulting from carelessness. Some women gave birth inside the detention facility under such deteriorated conditions, it added.
Al-Hashimi has reportedly promised to send a special judicial council to study the legal cases of the prisoners and has offered to pay for lawyers for those women who cannot afford to.
The statement follows a series of visits by the Sunni vice president to several prisons under the supervision of the justice and interior ministries. During a visit to a juvenile prison, al-Hashimi reportedly “uncovered human rights violations”.