- Russia calls on U.S. to probe human rights violations in Iraq, says Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Andrei Nesterenko
October 28, 2010 (KATAKAMI / RIA NOVOSTI) --- Moscow has called on Washington to hold an investigation into mass human rights violations committed by U.S. servicemen during the military campaign in Iraq between 2004 and 2009, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Andrei Nesterenko said on Thursday.
Over 400,000 documents related to the U.S. military operation in Iraq were published on the whistleblower WikiLeaks website on Saturday. Some 1,500 other war logs will be published later.
"We call on the government of the United States to hold an investigation and hope that the results will be made public and the rights community and all interested international structures will be informed [of the results]," Nesterenko said in a statement on the website of the Foreign Ministry.
"Of course, information on the murders of civilians, torture and other degrading treatment of detainees which, according to the media, U.S. military commanders knew about, needs detailed investigation," Nesterenko said.
"This move will demonstrate the adherence of the United States to high standards in the sphere of human rights, which they [the United States] always call on other countries to maintain," Nesternko's statement read.
The move will also help the United States "pass a serious test" which the country will have to undergo soon under the United Nations Human Rights Council's Universal Periodic Review.
The Pentagon has repeatedly called on WikiLeaks to refrain from publishing war logs because, according to the U.S. administration, they threaten the safety of both servicemen and civilians in Iraq.
MOSCOW, October 28 (RIA Novosti)
