Jan. 25 (Bloomberg) -- Iraq security forces are torturing detainees and the abuses are becoming ``routine and commonplace,'' the Human Rights Watch said.

``The people of Iraq were promised something better than this after the government of Saddam Hussein fell,'' said Sarah Leah Whitson, executive director of the group's Middle East and North Africa division, in a report issued today. ``The Iraqi interim government is not keeping its promise to honor and respect basic human rights.''

The New York-based group said it conducted interviews with 90 detainees, 72 of whom alleged they were tortured or ill-treated. The probe took place between July and October 2004, it said. Iraq's interim government hasn't commented on the report.

Photographs of abuses of detainees by U.S. soldiers at Abu Ghraib prison near Iraq's capital, Baghdad, sparked outrage worldwide last year. Pentagon investigations into mistreatment of prisoners in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba have led to charges against eight soldiers. Three British soldiers are facing a court-martial accused of humiliating Iraqi civilians.

Iraq holds elections Jan. 30 for an interim national assembly that will draft a new constitution, paving the way for general elections in 2005. The run-up to the election has been accompanied by an increase in attacks on Iraqi security forces and officials by insurgents.

Facing Challenges

``The Iraqi security forces obviously face tremendous challenges, including an insurgency that has targeted civilians,'' Whitson said in the report published on the Human Rights Watch Web site. ``We unequivocally condemn the insurgents' brutality. But international law is unambiguous on this point: no government can justify torture of detainees in the name of security.''

The investigation found systematic use of arbitrary arrest and prolonged pre-trial detention for as many as four months in some cases without legal review, the report said.

The Iraqi authorities, with rare exception, have failed to investigate and punish officials responsible for violations, Human Rights Watch said.

``International police advisers, primarily U.S. citizens funded through the United States government, have turned a blind eye to these rampant abuses,'' it said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Paul Tighe in Sydney at ptighe@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: January 24, 2005 23:52 EST