The US military said yesterday that it had freed 1,000 detainees from Iraq's notorious Abu Ghraib prison at the Baghdad government's request, in the largest release to date.
The move followed appeals by Sunni representatives at the stalled constitutional talks to the government to start releasing thousands of prisoners who have been languishing in the jail for months without being charged with a crime.
It was not clear if the decision was linked to a demand by Arab Sunnis opposed to a draft constitution that authorities release Sunni prisoners so they can participate in a referendum on the text and elections later this year.
"I know this is a big one, but I can't say if it is related to anything that is going on," said US military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Steven Boylan.
A statement from President Jalal Talabani's office said prisoners from the town of Madaen, just south of Baghdad, had also been released. Sunni negotiators had also demanded freedom for Sunni prisoners from Madaen.
Whether or not the releases were part of negotiations on the charter, they are likely to ease concerns over the estimated 10,000 Iraqi prisoners held in US detention centers in the country.
"This is a good move that we definitely welcome," said Hussein al-Falluji, one of 15 Sunnis on the panel drafting the constitution.
Parliament Speaker Hajem al-Hassani confirmed that a draft constitution with new proposals on disputed points such as federalism would be reviewed by Arab Sunnis and the chamber would receive a response today.
Sunnis are fiercely opposed to federalism, fearing it would give Shiite and Kurdish leaders dominating the government control over oil resources in northern and southern Iraq.
The plight of prisoners in the US-run Abu Ghraib, once one of former president Saddam Hussein's most feared prisons, has been one the most emotional issues for Iraqis since the US-led invasion.
A scandal broke in the facility west of Baghdad last year when leaked photographs of US military guards abusing prisoners and forcing them to simulate sexual acts provoked an international outcry.
"This major release, the largest to date, marks a significant event in Iraq's progress toward democratic governance and the rule of law," said a US military statement.
"Those chosen for release are not guilty of serious, violent crimes -- such as bombing, torture, kidnapping or murder -- and all have admitted their crimes, renounced violence and pledged to be good citizens of a democratic Iraq," the statement said.
US military officials say detainees sent to Abu Ghraib typically spend six months to a year in custody before a decision is made in Iraqi courts on whether to prosecute them.
US military lawyers in Baghdad estimate that 80 to 85 percent of those arrested by US forces are released without being convicted.
Leaders of the Sunni community, the seat of the insurgency, have complained that lengthy detentions without charge, during which prisoners have no access to lawyers or family, are unfair.
Shiite and Kurdish leaders are hoping to get Sunni leaders on board for the constitution in a bid to neutralize an insurgency that has killed thousands of security forces, US troops and civilians.
But negotiations over the charter, described as a blueprint for democracy by Shiites and Kurds, and a possible trigger for civil war by the Sunnis, have been deadlocked for weeks.
Falluji is the kind of Sunni that the government wants to win over in order to pacify Sunnis in the insurgency. He is a lawyer from Abu Ghraib -- a district which is a guerrilla stronghold despite being home to the prison -- who is willing to try politics. But he was not optimistic about a deal.
"I don't think there will be an agreement because we find federalism in principle unacceptable and that has been our position from the start," he said.
Arab Sunnis form a majority in three provinces.
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