UN Human Rights Commission Chief: Torture in Iraq is Ongoing

In an absolutely stunning revelation to The Times of Malta, former UN Human Rights Chief, John Pace, insists that torture is ongoing in "illegal detention places" and that the body count due to summary executions and torture have been staggeringly high - and he has proof:

In a frank interview with The Times, Dr Pace says photos and forensic records have proved that torture was rife inside detention centres. Though the process of release has been speeded up, there are an estimated 23,000 people in detention, of whom 80 to 90 per cent are innocent.

He says the Baghdad morgue received 1,100 bodies in July alone, about 900 of whom bore evidence of torture or summary execution. That continued throughout the year and last December there were 780 bodies, including 400 having gunshot wounds or wounds as those caused by electric drills.

Pace says that the US is definitely aware of the scene on the ground.

The Bush administration has consistently denigrated the work of the UN Human Rights Commission, as seen as recently as last week when the UNHRC released its report on conditions at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility in Cuba. US Secretary of Defense mocked the work of commission members when they called for the closure of the facility by stating that they hadn't even been there. UNHRC officials responded by revealing that they were not allowed access to interview detainees, which can only leave one to wonder what the US is hiding.

There has not been an official White House reaction yet to these statements about the ongoing torture of Iraqis by John Pace but, if he has photos and records, the White House will be hard-pressed to spin their way out of this potential nightmare: a nightmare that the public thought had ended with Abu Ghraib.