§ Lynne JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he has on the number of Iraqis killed or tortured in each year since Saddam Hussein came to power. [100059]
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§ Mr. Mike O'BrienI refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Hereford (Mr. Keetch) today (UIN 99526).
§ Mr. KeetchTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on how many estimated Iraqi civilian deaths have been directly caused by the regime of Saddam Hussein(a) prior to 1990, (b) since 1990, (c) since 1998 and (d) since November 2002; and if he will make a statement. [99526]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienPrecise figures are not available. But it is clear that Saddam Hussein's regime is responsible for many Iraqi civilian deaths. Amnesty International's report "Iraq: State cruelty: branding, amputation and the death penalty"—April 1996, deplores "the disappearance or extrajudicial execution of hundreds of thousands of people—including whole communities—for political reasons, and the widespread use of the death penalty for numerous criminal and political offences after unfair trials. The Iraqi Government has sanctioned mass killings and torture as a matter of policy…" The testimonies of Iraqi exiles give credence to these and other similar reports.