Iraqis Crackdown on Foreigners
By Alissa J. Rubin, LA Times Staff Writer
Now if our own elected ones could get the same message....
BAGHDAD -- In a bid to rid the country of foreign insurgents, the Iraqi government is using strict new residency rules to detain and expel non-Iraqi Arabs.
Any Arab without the proper permit can be detained, interrogated and asked to leave the country, Interior Ministry officials said. So far the program has swept up largely Syrians, Sudanese, Saudis and Egyptians, and about 250 people have been asked to leave.
Far more are being detained -- as many as 200 a day in the Baghdad area alone -- although most are released within a few days. Though some are taken in for suspected terrorist activities, others are held with no evidence other than not having proper residency permits under the new rules. Such people can be deported without any evidence of having committed crimes. While the focus has been on Arabs, a few Chechens and Iranians also have been detained.
(snip) Continue reading at link above
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