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Reports From Iraq > Tue., Mar. 23, 2004
US Increasing House Demolitions and Indefinite Detentions In Iraq
15 year old Ahmed Itar Hassen walks along the banks of
the Tigris River in his village, Abu Siffa. It's a welcome
freedom. Ahmed Itar Hassen was one of 73 Iraqi farmers
seized by American forces in a sweep 9 months ago. He
is is one of only 2 to be released. |
Two thousand Iraqi's marched through the center of Baghdad
today to protest Israel's killing of Hamas leader Sheik Ahmed
Yassin.
It's a demonstration that's not surprising given the increased
cooperation between the US occupation force in Iraq and the
Israeli military. According to the Guardian of London, Israel
has sent two consultants to Iraq to advise the American Army.
The Guardian also reports Israeli urban war-fare experts have
also traveled to American military bases in North Carolina
to train US troops.
The result seems to be an increase in house demolitions and
indefinite detentions -- a pattern mirroring Israel's treatment
of the Palestinians.
Take the village of Abu Siffa, a farming village an hour's
drive north of Baghdad. Cattle graze on the side of the road
and date palms sway in the wind. The mighty Tigris flows near-by.
Rejan Mohammed Hassen stands in front of the rubble that
was her house and recalls the night last summer when the American
Army took her sons and destroyed her house.
"Early in the morning they took us from the home and
asked us to stand around," she recalls. " When we
questioned them, the Americans started to beat the women.
After that, two tanks came to our house and started to shoot
using the machine gun on top of the tank and then two missiles
from the head of the tank."
By the time the American Army left Abu Siffa an hour later
-- 73 men from the village had been rounded up including all
four of Rejan Mohammed Hassen's sons. Villagers say the Americans
didn't find the arms caches they were looking for, but the
soldiers did confiscate several trucks and large sums of cash.
Nine months later, 15 year old Ahmed Itar Hassen is one of
only two villagers have emerged from custody.
"For the first six days we all staying in open field
surrounded by razor wire," he says. "There was no
tent and no mat under us and we were exposed to the sun and
the rain."
He says the soldiers provided no toilet facilities leaving
the men to relieve themselves in the open.
"It was impossible to sleep," he recalls. "
Every night the American soldiers threw pebbles at us all
night long."
Eventually, Ahmed says he was transferred to Baghdad's Abu
Grahb prison. There, he was held in solitary confinement --
in a 3 foot by 4 foot cell -- the same cell used to keep political
prisoner prisoners during the reign of Saddam Hussein. He
says he was not allowed outside to exercise. He says he was
not allowed to see his family and not allowed to see a lawyer.
"At night they threw a dog in the cell to frighten me,"
he says. "We call it a wolf-dog, the big police dog.
A soldier just put in my cell every night. Every night a different
soldier."
Ahmed says the dog went away after he complained to a Red
Cross observer who came to his cell. After nine months in
prison, the American military released Ahmed Itar Hassen --
never charging him with any crime.
******
Human rights groups monitoring the American Army in Iraq
say incidents like those at Abu Siffa happen far too often
during the occupation.
A report released this week by Amnesty International catalogues
15 confirmed incidents of house demolition and notes regular
reports of torture and beatings perpetrated against prisoners
in American custody -- The also alleges prisoners are regularly
subjected to sleep-deprivation, hooding, and bright lights.
While noting the allegations are as yet unproven, Amnesty
International condemns, the American Army for not allowing
independent monitoring of the prisons.
Sa'ad Sultan Hussein, lawyer for the American-appointed Iraqi
Ministry for Human Rights says the occupation force has promised
to allow his agency to open an office at abu Grahb, but so
far the Americans have only given his teams guided tours of
the prisons.
"I have only seen what they wanted me to see,"
he admits, "We didn't enter the room for interrogation.
We were not allowed to witness any interrogations."
Sa'ad Sultan Hussein says the occupying forces are currently
holding about 11,000 prisoners at abu Grahb -- the vast majority
for political crimes.
****
Back in the village of abu Siffa, Rejan Mohammed Hassen waits
in the wreckage of her home for her sons to return from prison.
She hasn't been able to see them since the Americans took
them away. She has no idea when they'll return.
"It's just an occupation," she says. "There's
no freedom. Everything they say about democracy and human
rights it's all a lie."
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