We recall that the "Arab prisoners" are a group of individuals arrested between 2003 and 2008 on suspicion of having supported the "insurgency" against the "US occupation forces". Most of them were detained incommunicado for several weeks or months following their arrest and were subjected to severe torture. Finally, they were sentenced to heavy prison terms on the basis of statements extracted under torture. Moreover, the majority of them were deprived of the right to appeal their judgments.

The WGAD addressed a communication to the Iraqi Government on 3 September 2012 but the authorities failed to reply to the allegations within a reasonable delay. Consequently, the WGAD adopted Opinion No. 43/2012 regarding the situation of the 48 detainees on 14 November 2012. The Opinion highlights the fact that the prisoners were not "allowed to be represented by counsel of their own choosing" and emphasizes the lack of the independence of the tribunals as well as many detainees' deprivation of their right to appeal. Moreover, the Working Group recalls that the admission of confessions "obtained as a result of torture [...] as evidence in criminal proceedings renders the proceedings as a whole unfair."

Calling the detention of those prisoners arbitrary, the WGAD recommends that the Iraqi Government "take the necessary steps to remedy the situation of the [...] petitioners and bring it into conformity with the standards and principles set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights," adding that the "adequate remedy would be to release them and accord them an enforceable right to compensation."

Taking good note of WGAD Opinion No. 43/2012, Alkarama urges the Iraqi authorities to undertake all steps necessary to fully comply with the requests of the Working Group.