Sit-in in Basra calls for release of Sadrist detainees

BASRA / IraqiNews.com: The office of Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr in Basra has staged a sit-in in front of the provincial building, calling for the release of detainees who were cleared of all wrongdoing. “Those participating in the sit-in have called for the abolition of the death sentences against the detainees, arguing that they are marred by suspicion and do not uphold human rights principles or the Iraqi laws,” one of the organizers of the sit-in, Fadel al-Moussawi, told IraqiNews.com news agency. “They have appealed to the Human Rights Office in the south and concerned civil organizations to conduct regular visits to prisons to check on detainees…,” Moussawi noted. The Shiite city of Basra lies 590 km south of the Iraqi capital Baghdad. SS (P) 1