CPTnet
June 2, 2004
IRAQ: Testimony of Saddam Saleh Al Rawi and explanation of retraction
[Note: Because of the confusion surrounding a testimony that appeared on
CPTnet and its subsequent retraction, the testimony below appears in full.
(See May 12 CPT net release, "CPT takes testimony from photographed
detainee describing torture at Abu Ghraib," and May 22 release, "IRAQ: CPT
Iraq Retracts Prisoner Abuse Testimony.")]
On May 22 CPT Iraq retracted a testimony given by a detainee recently
released from Abu Ghraib prison. After further investigation, CPT has
confirmed that the original testimony sent out on May 12 is valid. The
following is a paraphrased version of Saddam's testimony, as recorded in
Baghdad a second time by Matt Chandler and Sheila Provencher at the Human
Rights Organization in Iraq on May 15, 2004. CPT verified this testimony by
checking Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) detainee lists. The CPA's
record confirms that Saddam was captured on November 28, 2003,[a one-day
discrepancy] and that his sequence number was 200144. Under "Crime Accused
Of," the CPA list says only "Security Detainee/MI-Hold" which means that he
was arrested without charge but that Military Intelligence (MI) wanted to
interrogate Saddam.
"On November 29, 2003, my brother and I were in Baghdad shopping for our
weddings [both were engaged to be married soon]. I was in the Al Sadoun
neighborhood of Baghdad when I saw a car that I suspected had a bomb in it.
I went to an Iraqi policeman I knew, named Suhair. Suhair told his
superior officer, and then the Iraqi Police took me to a US Army base on
Palestine Street.
"At the US base, I saw a US soldier with two bars on his helmet (Captain)
and a non-Iraqi, non-military translator. They didn't interview me; they
just talked to the Iraqi policemen who brought me in. Then the captain tied
my hands in front of me and put me in a room. Along the way, the captain
was abusive: he pulled on my collar, shoved me around, and kicked me in the
thigh. I stayed in that room alone for over two hours, until an Arab
translator in fatigues and two US soldiers entered.
"One wore the uniform of a specialists, another was a sergeant first class,
named Bruce. They sat me on the floor and questioned me. They asked about
my name, my work, why I was in Baghdad, and my relationship with the group
who made the bomb in the car. I told them I had no relationship with those
who put the bomb in the car. I just saw that it was suspicious and told the
police about it. The soldiers weren't abusive. Bruce actually made some
jokes.
"They left and night came. I hadn't had any food or water yet. I only had
one cup of tea. It was a cold and rainy night. I had no blanket and no
mattress, so I couldn't sleep all night.
"The next day, before noon, two men in civilian clothes, carrying strange
weapons, came in, put a hood on my head, tied my hands behind my back, and
took me outside. They put me in a car and drove me to an unknown place.
They were not abusive. After a while, we stopped and they led me into a
cell. They took off my hood, and I could see that I was in an outdoor cage
with wood and metal bar walls, a mud floor, and no roof. They left me there
alone with my hands still tied behind my back. I still hadn't received any
food, water, or blankets.
"On that first day, an American man in civilian clothes and an Iraqi
translator who had his face covered came in and abused me severely. They
didn't ask me any questions. They just beat me and accused me of being a
terrorist. The American beat me repeatedly with his hands all over my body
and on my face, especially my eyes. The Iraqi man
mostly kicked me. He kicked me in the nose and I bled all over. Then they
left me alone. No one came to treat my wounds, feed me, or give me a
blanket. I spent that night on the ground with my hands
still tied.
"The next day, the same American and Iraqi men brought me water and one MRE
[Army-issued meal ready to eat]. The American retied my hands in front of
me so I could eat and drink. That evening, the two men questioned me,
asking what I studied, what was my work, when I was in the Iraqi Army and
what was my job, what was my address, where Osama bin Laden was, where
Saifedeen [#8 on the Iraq's Most Wanted list] was, and where Saddam Hussein
was. I was afraid they would hurt me or my friends and family, so I didn't
answer honestly. I gave them a fake address. But I was honest in my answer
about Saddam Hussein: I said he was probably in Balad or Tikrit [north of
Baghdad] where his family tribe was located.
"The American sat in a chair during the interrogation. Whenever he was
not happy with my answer, he kicked me and said things like, "Shut the fuck
up!" and "Bullshit!"
"The next day--the third day in the cage--was the same routine: the
American and Iraqi brought me some water and one meal, and interrogated and
beat me in the same way as the day before. I still had no blanket or
medical treatment.
"On the fourth day, they tied my hands in back, hooded me, put me in some
military vehicle and drove me to an unknown location. When we arrived at
the destination, some people took me inside a room, took off my hood and
untied my hands. I was in an office with many computers and many male and
female US soldiers. The took all of my personal belongings, including my
identification, some documents, $350 US and 1,940,000 Iraqi Dinars, giving
me no receipt. (I had so much money with me because I was in Baghdad to buy
many things for my wedding and my brother's wedding). They took prints of
my index fingers and scanned my eyes.
"During the eye scan, I could see a reflection of my face, and I saw that my
eyes were blue and swollen. They gave me a wristband with the number
200144, and then they hooded me again and took me to another room.
"They took my hood off and I could see that I was alone in a small room with
a bed frame and two blankets. They gave me clothes, a hat, a coat, shoes
and slippers. They also gave me a copy of the Quran, water and cigarettes.
I stayed in this room for two days, with no questionings, no idea of what
were my charges and no communication with my family. They fed me two meals
per day, and allowed me to go to the toilet once per day, which wasn't
enough, so I had to pee in my empty water bottles.
"After these two days, some soldiers came in and tied my hands behind my
back, hooded me, took me outside, and put me in an armored personnel carrier
with seven other detainees. They drove us to
another location, took us inside a building, and removed our hoods. I
recognized that we were inside Abu Ghraib prison. They took us into an
office with computers. They took my picture and gave me the same
identification number. They also conducted a strip search.
"After that, two doctors--one male and one female--asked me about my
injuries. I told them about my beatings in the cell a few days before. They
asked,
"Why didn't they bring you here first?"
"After the examination, a man I later learned was called Sergeant Joyner,
put another hood on my head and retied my hands. Sergeant Joyner took me
out of the office to another room, intentionally smashing my face against
several doors along the way. He left me with my hands tied and my head
covered. I realized there were others in the room with me. Their hands
were also tied, but they were unhooded. I asked one man to help me take off
my hood because I was having a lot of difficulty breathing. When he did, I
saw all of the other men--about three or four all together--were completely
naked. I was so shocked and disgraced that I asked the man to put my hood
back on, which he did.
"I spent more than one hour in this room before soldiers came and took me
out into the hall. They untied my hands and asked me to strip. I refused
to because it is forbidden for Muslims. They forced off my clothes and beat
me. One of them shouted in my ear. Then they made me stand on a box with
my hands on my head for one hour. Then they beat me again and poured cold
water on me. Next, they made me hold a plastic chair over my head for a
long time. All along, I could hear them laughing and snapping photographs.
(I could see the flash of the cameras through my hood.) I became so
exhausted that I fell down and hit my head on the wall. They took off my
hood at that point and continued laughing. I saw Sergeant Joyner, an
Egyptian translator who wore fatigues, named Abu Hamed, two male soldiers,
one with glasses, and one female soldier.
"Then a soldier from another group came and peed on me. Other soldiers then
dragged me along the floor in the hall and did other similar things to keep
me awake all night.
"When the night was over, they put me in room 42 of section 1A of Abu Ghraib
prison. It was a small room with a bunk-bed frame, a water tap, and a
toilet. I had no mattress or blankets and no food. I was still naked and
very tired. I sat against the wall, shivering and trying to sleep. I could
see through some small openings in the wall that the sun was rising.
"That morning, one man, a US sergeant first class named Ivan, and one woman,
a US sergeant, took me into another room. I was still unhooded and untied.
They gave me some cloth to cover myself. Sergeant Ivan threatened me,
saying that if I didn't give up any information, he would have other
soldiers rape me. (Abu Hamed was translating.) I was so stunned that I
couldn't reply.
"The soldiers I mentioned continued to torture me there in section 1A over
the next eighteen days for twenty hours per day. They used ten rooms
especially for torture. (The published photo of a man tied with his
back against a bunk bed and panties over his head is from one of these
rooms.)
"Some of the things they did to me were as follows: they put my hands and
legs through the bars of a cell door, tied them together, and left me there
for a long time. They played loud music so I couldn't sleep. Whenever they
took me out of my cell, they used dogs to threaten me. They left me naked
the entire time. They hog-tied me. They beat me repeatedly all over my
body. One time they knocked out two of my teeth [lower left molars].
All the while, there were no investigations and no medical treatment.
"After these eighteen days, they began to interrogate me again. I just
didn't care anymore. I answered yes to all of their questions. I told them
I was with Ansar Al Islam [a well-known terrorist group], the Mohammed Army
[another terrorist organization], and Al Qaeda. I told them I knew Zarqouwi
[an Al Qaeda leader] even though I had never heard of him before. "I am his
driver," I said. I also said I knew Osama bin Laden. More so, I said, "I
am Osama bin Laden. I did the explosions on September Eleventh." The
interrogators just said, "Bullshit!" to all of my answers and beat me.
"I spent three months in room 42 in section 1A, including those eighteen
days of torture. The guards fed me one MRE every 12 hours and I drank cold
water from the tap.
"At the end of this period, some soldiers moved me to another camp, which
was like a hospital. I was weak at that time, and I had many health
problems. Then they sent me to camp 7, tent 2. Still, until this point, I
didn't know the charges against me.
"On March 25, 2004, some soldiers gave me a paper in Arabic with my charges:
"suspected member of a terrorist group." The paper said some other things
about the Geneva Conventions. They told me to sign it. I wrote on it that
I just wanted to know my charges so I could defend myself. Then I signed
it.
"They released me on March 28, 2004. During the release process, they
apologized, and they gave me a document: "Release Form For Detained
Civilians," signed by Lieutenant Colonel Craig A. Essick, the camp
commander. [Saddam showed this document to Chandler who believed it to be
an original] They also gave me $10 US and some clothes to wear, but they
never returned my property.
"Some of the people who tortured me, including Abu Hamed, the male soldier
with glasses, Sergeant Ivan, and one woman, are now in the published photos.
I remember the names of others who tortured me: Sergeant Schneider, Sergeant
First Class Pear, and Nicholai. These soldiers did terrible things to other
detainees in Abu Ghraib as well. I have information about Nicholai raping a
16-year-old girl. I saw Sergeant Schneider raping another woman from
Basrah. I also saw a soldier sodomizing a young boy from Fallujah, named
Haider, with a broom handle."
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