The Iraqi Observatory for Human Rights said that the Iraqi authorities must speed up holding soldiers of Iraqi army accountable for committing a "crime of rape" in the city of Mosul, to prevent impunity as in previous violations.
"These soldiers have gone too far in their crime, they carried out a mass rape at a checkpoint "zone" separating the two areas of Mosul," according to the video broadcasted by one of the soldiers.
The video, which the Iraqi Observatory apologizes for not to publish, showed a soldier physically harassing a five years old child sitting next to him, according to a video call he made with his colleagues which broadcasted on Facebook.
The video also showed a woman with her baby approaching the barricade close to the soldiers and crossing it, when the soldier told his colleagues that they had "copulate with her". The video also showed the soldiers mocking the child while their colleague harassing him.
One of those who spoke in the video appeared wearing an Iraqi army uniform and sitting inside a Hummer vehicle used by the Iraqi Ministry of Defense.
"The two soldiers were arrested and their statements of confessions were recorded initially and judicially, legal proceedings were also made against them," the Interior Ministry said in a statement, but the ministry of defense, to which the two soldiers belongs, said it would "launch an investigation into the incident".
The Iraqi Observatory for Human Rights said that "the soldiers who appeared in the video committed the crimes of rape, physical harassment and defamation of a child and his mother, as well as their lack of commitment to their military duty to impose security and not attack the population".
The Observatory also said," These soldiers appear to fear no punishment as no previous abuses earlier committed by their colleagues have been punished for, they have not got enough from raping and filming, but they also broadcast their crime on social networking sites showing the abused child".
The first paragraph of Article 393 of the Iraqi Penal Code No. 111 of 1969 stated that "life or temporary imprisonment shall impose on anyone who has sexual intercourse with female without her consent, or has sexual intercourse with a male or female without his or her consent".
The same article in its second paragraph stated that "law punishes a death sentence for the rape of young people associated with murder".
The Iraqi government should demonstrate swift and serious action to reduce violations committed by soldiers and elements in the security services by bringing the perpetrators to fair accountability and compensate the victims, so that others will not commit further violations in the future.
