| Somehow my sympathy meter's not pegging over this... |
 Iraq's Human Rights Ministry is investigating allegations of abuse in the making of a popular television series that shows insurgents confessing to crimes including rape, kidnapping and execution. Human Rights Minister Bakhtiar Amin said the probe focused on evidence of verbal abuse of suspects, but could be extended to include physical abuse and torture, accusations that have been leveled at Iraq's security forces. "Individuals have raised concerns after seeing verbal abuse of suspects as well as bruises on their bodies and that sort of thing," Amin told Reuters in an interview on Monday. "We are looking at all these television shows right now and we are studying them from a human rights point of view. Things should be done in accordance with human rights standards and principles and we are going to make sure that those norms are respected." Amin said a report would be made to the interior and justice ministries after the investigation. The television series, called "Terrorism in the Grip of Justice," airs almost nightly on Iraqiya, Iraq's U.S.-funded national network, and shows men sitting before an interrogator, whose face is not shown, confessing to crimes. |