57 Iraqis Charged In Abuse At Prison

On Monday, both U.N. and U.S. officials described the criminal charges as a positive development for efforts to bring order and the rule of law to Iraq. "The fact there seems to be action on Site 4 is a step in the right direction," said Gianni Magazzeni, chief of the U.N. human rights office for Iraq, which published the report. "It's an indication that the minister is taking seriously his responsibility and acting accountable."

"This is one step of many he needs to take in this direction," said Army Maj. Gerald Ostlund, a U.S. military spokesman who focuses on issues concerning Iraq's security forces, referring to the minister.

Magazzeni said he hoped the Site 4 action would spur closer scrutiny of atrocities that unfolded in another Interior Ministry facility in the Baghdad neighborhood of Jadriyah in November last year. U.S. soldiers entered an underground bunker there and found a clandestine torture center where scores of Sunni men were held for months. Many were beaten, starved and then killed by their Shiite captors.

A report on Jadriyah was delivered to Iraq's government, but its findings have never been publicly released nor its perpetrators forced to face justice. "That would be another way to help reduce the feeling of impunity," Magazzeni said.

It remains to be seen whether Bolani, a Shiite and an engineer by training, can take on senior figures in his ministry who are suspected of links to Shiite militias. Many are left from the days of his predecessor, Bayan Jabr, who many Sunnis allege turned the ministry into his own Shiite fiefdom and a haven for the militias.

Bolani has no political affiliations, a quality that made him attractive as a replacement for Jabr. But this very independence means he has less clout in getting rid of politically connected co-workers inside the ministry.

"That's part of his challenge," Ostlund said. "You fire somebody from the government here, what have you turned them into? What have they become the day after? Sometime it is better to keep your enemies closer than your friends."

On Monday, Bolani spoke cautiously. Asked if any of the 57 alleged offenders were members of Shiite militias, he said that "no reference to militias came up during the investigation."

Khalaf, the spokesman, was also cautious when asked if the ministry would go after Jabr, now Iraq's finance minister and alleged by human rights groups to have been aware of the torture unfolding in Site 4 and other ministry prisons.

"This is not true," Khalaf said of the allegation. "No minister would allow such violations if he knew, because the Interior Minister is for all of Iraq's people."