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Answer
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Name
Rafael Alejandro
- Chile
Profession
Student
Question
Salaam Alaikum; May Allâh repay you in full for oyur sufferings with great rewards in this life and the next;
What for you shall be the hardest step now? What are your emotions towards the lack of a formal apology from US leaders; in light of the gortesque tortues that you have seen and faced bravely? What can we do to help you and your comrades?
Gracias.
Answer
Before entering the prison, I was an innocent, good person. I had no bad feelings toward anyone. But after my experience in the prison, I became angry at all Americans and I blame them for what I have become. My wounds are deep and cannot be healed by just an apology. On behalf of all Iraqi detainees, I demand the punishment of those criminals.
As to your help, I am asking you to relay all what you have heard or read about the suffering of the Iraqi people to all your friends in your country, and I pray that you keep defending the oppressed against the oppressors.
Name
sarah
- Italy
Profession
teacher
Question
In the photos about the tortures we cuold see a young women makin horrible things. How much did women took part in the tortures (in your experience)? Thank you, and Allah bless you.
Answer
The women in the US Army played an important role in the torture of Iraqi detainees. They abused us, as if we were toys. I said to one of them, “As a woman, you are supposed to be tender, but you are demonstrating otherwise; so, your heart will be broken someday.” But she did not pay any attention to my words.
I want to say that I saw a detainee with his hands and feet bound, naked, and sick because of his attempt to commit suicide by eating broken tiles from the bathroom, which he had broken with his bound hand; and I saw the woman soldier looking at him with a glass of juice in her hand as if nothing was happening.
Name
Naima
- Pakistan
Profession
Question
I am deeply infuriated by the mistreatment of our brothers and sisters at the hands of occupying forces. May Allah(swt) bestow justice on you and our fellow brothers and sisters. Ameen.
My question to you will be:
1) what type of abuses did you witness, while in prison? didn't the prisoners do anything for their defence while being maltreated?
2) were our sisters in the prison also the victims of this inhumanely abuse?
Answer
Thank you very much for your noble feelings toward the Iraqi detainees of whom I am one. Let me tell you about one of many cases which I remember and still constitutes a nightmare for me. One evening, in the month of November last year, three American soldiers put an Iraqi prisoner on top of a box. He was totally naked, with hands and feet bound, and they were pulling him by his sexual organ and beating him with a long stick; and while doing this, they were laughing continuously.
As to the prisoners who were trying to defend themselves, the Americans in Abu Ghraib would use a small black gadget, the same size of a pen, which produced an electrice shock, and they would place it at the bottom of prisoners' feet. As a result, the prisoners would lose consciousness.
The American police officers in prisoners carry sticks and beat the detainees when they refuse to obey orders.
As to Iraqi women detainees, they are held in the upper floors of the prison. I noticed that the American soldiers, sometimes, would leave their assigned chores in order to talk to women detainees. One has to say, there are many beautiful American women soldiers such as Dr. Maria and her assistant, but the American soldiers didn’t feel like talking to them.
Name
cindy
- United States
Profession
mother & activist
Question
First I'd like to say that I am so sorry for what has happened as a result of my Country's imperialist occupations. I want you to know that I worked very hard to stop this war from beginning. I still protest and call my local radio talk show daily, trying to re-educate Americans about what these wars are about. The idea that our president-select is a 'Christian' makes me sick. He is the farthest thing from anything holy and good. It amazes me that people believe in him because he 'talks to God' - or so he claims. My question to you is a universal one: Do you believe that many people are capable of these cruelties? Do you see it as a 'Christian' problem? A US & British problem? And finally, I wish you peace and hope you can draw upon the goodness that is in so many people of the world, so that you can be healed in your heart. I'm sorry for what my government has done, as are many others who work for peace and justice.
Answer
Thank you very much, my friend, for your true feelings despite the distance that separates us. As a Muslim I believe in Jesus Christ. In the Quran we are taught to believe in all Allah’s prophets, and I don't think that Jesus will be proud of what Bush or Blair have committed in my country. They came under the false pretext to get rid of weapon of mass destruction which they could not find in the first place. As for your apology, I accept yours only . I hope that someday we get to meet so you see the goodness of the Iraqi people and the Iraqis get to meet some good Americans.
Name
Muna Bushra
-
Profession
Question
As-Salamu`Alaikum.
As a former detainee & eyewitness you are in a position to bring out even more to light and this would be a strong weapon against those abusers in Abu Ghraib prison. Do you feel this is your mission?
Is it safe to talk openly against the abusers?
I am wondering when did you first witness an abuse and whether the holy month of Ramadan was chosen as an onset.
Muslims in europe & all over the world are praying for the oppressed & their families & I´m sure even non muslims. So I hope those oppressed really know we are with them spiritually.
thanks a lot,
Muna
Answer
Wa alaikum al salam. As far as I am concerned, I reject the idea of compensation, because what I have experienced cannot be compensated for, even if I am to be given all the money in New York's banks.
I am telling the truth, and there are no lies in what I said. I was arrested twice and I am afraid they might arrest me for the third time. I have no choice: If they come, I will kill them and they will kill me. This is the only alternative.
As to the second question, the holy month of Ramadan was the month they started their abuse; they didn’t start in the month of January, as they said in the media.
Among the things I clearly remember is that an American soldier was torturing an Iraqi prisoner systematically, so this Iraqi managed to obtain a gun, through an Iraqi policeman inside the prison, and he shot his tormentor. Consequently, three American soldiers shot the Iraqi in his cell. Then the Americans imprisoned 45 Iraqi soldiers -- after they had them take off their clothes -- and unleashed dogs on them. After this incident, many Iraqi policemen resigned. This incident wasn’t covered in neither the American nor the Arabic media.
The question that should be asked is what made a detainee kill his American guard. The answer is that he preferred death to torture and humiliation.
Name
Ziyaad
- South Africa
Profession
Question
Salaam Brother,
I pray Allah gives you the strength to overcome the horror u have experienced at the hands of the Americans. Our prayers are with you, and the the rest of the Iraqi people, and all oppressed people the world over. It seems that the behaviour of the soldiers in question stems from a fundamental racism. From your experience, is that a fair assumtion to make ?
Shukran
Ziyaad.
Answer
Assalamu alaikum brother Ziyad,
I don't agree with you that what happened in Abu Ghraib was done out of racism. The director of the prison saw what was going on in the prison’s cells, as I did. They were naked, and stayed naked, not for hours, but for days. Please don’t tell me that she didn’t know what was going on in solitary confinement cells, which were located at the entrance of the prison and were called Al Thakila.
Name
Fouzia
- India
Profession
Student
Question
V all feel the pain of ur sufferings.V pray to ALLAH almight for the relief, but the exact sufferings only u know & ALLAH ofcourse.Do u hav something to tell to the muslims in the world.
Answer
I appreciate your feelings toward me and the other detainees. I would like all the Muslims in the world to know the truth as I saw it with my own eyes, because fellow detainees, in interviews in international and Arabic TV channels, did not get into details, and the moderators of the programs didn’t give them enough time to talk about them.
I call upon all the Muslims of the world to insist on the application of the law to its full extent in order to punish those criminals in Abu Ghraib and elsewhere. I demand the death penalty for all of them.
America is not welcome in Iraq.
Name
Saeed
- United States
Profession
Software development
Question
Salaam alaykum, I am an American convert to Islam and I am sickened by what my country is doing in Iraq and around the world. I'm ashamed to be an American and only claim allegience to Islam. My question is what can American Muslims (and Muslims around the world) do to actively help our brothers and sisters in Iraqi. May Allah protect and guide us all to the right path.
Answer
Thank God, you were blessed by Islam, and I wholeheartedly pray to God that you go to paradise, with our brothers such as Malcolm X.
Keep your head high and don’t be ashamed of being an American, because I had an American friend - I cannot tell you his name or the state he comes from, fearing that he might be recognized by the authorities. He is a friend I would like to see now, tomorrow, or at any time. Although is an American and a Christian, he used to treat us well. He was the only one who suffered for us and he never punished anyone of us. I was so grateful to the extent that I went to him and kissed him on the neck and told him, “I will never forget you till the end of my life.”
I call upon Muslims, in the US in particular and in the world in general, to demand the release of all the prisoners wearing bracelets with 6 or 5 digits , because 90% of them are innocent. I hope that all the citizens of the United States, whether Muslim or Christian, read this message.
Name
sairah
- United Kingdom
Profession
Question
Were nearly all prisoners abused or was it just some that spoke up, and also is it possible to get other detainees to speak up about the abuse so that everyone realises the damage these so called american and british troops caused?
Answer
I will give you some details endorsed with dates and names of the detainees in the Abu Ghraib prison under American supervision. As to other prisons in southern Iraq under British supervision, I can not help you because I have no idea of what is going on there.
On October 17, 2003, and exactly at 1 pm, the American forces arrested Haqi Al-Rawi. He was beaten without mercy. He was kicked while his hands and feet were bound. I saw three male soldiers, in addition to one blonde female soldier. The reason given for beating him was that the poor man had told them they were invaders and that they had to leave Iraq, and he had also said that if we stayed under Saddam’s regime it would have been better. The more he talked, the harder he was beaten. After three days of continuous beating and electric shocks (I have four eyewitnesses who can testify that this happened in a detention center in Baghdad), he was transferred to Abu Ghraib.
The number they gave him was 20092. For seven days he refused to eat; he actually went on a hunger strike. I myself forced him to take some milk, then two soldiers – one by the name of Brinsky, the other Fritz – were responsible for the section#1 in Abu Ghraib prison and they beat him and later transferred him to Al Thaqila prison; he is still there. He is a graduate of the Institute of Technology and not a soldier or a former member of the Ba’th party. I don't know if he is still alive or he died in prison. I demand, in the name of humanity, to release this person. I saw in him true innocence.
Name
salem
- Germany
Profession
scientist/manager
Question
Abusing issue in prisons -also in us-prisons- is part of US- and israeli-methods to stringulte any opposing power (political or military). this why the americans reject the international court for justice to avoid sueing their soldiers, who are abusing human rights constantly.
What is the so called inerim iraqi gov is doing against inhuman treatment from the occupation power? are they a partner in silence!
Answer
I would like to thank you for your question. Obviously, you are far-sighted and you have a good idea of what’s going on in Iraq. I would like to say that the methods used in Abu Ghraib were not used in the Shawshonc or Al Kanraz prisons.
One of the member of the Iraqi Governing Council, who is also the head of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), Jalal Talabani, interfered to release three of his men in the city of Suleimaniya. They we were arrested by Americans for possession of weapons. They were transferred from the city of Kilr, north of the Abu Ghraib prison, then they were released at the end of October 2003.
It is in the month of November of the same year when Talabani was appointed head of the Iraqi Governing Council. He failed to release the rest of the Kurds, members of the PUK, and he did nothing to help Ramzi in the Al Thaqila prison.
This is just an example to show that even a member of the Iraqi Governing Council did not bother to intercede on behalf of his fellow Iraqis.
Name
Noha
- Egypt
Profession
Question
We all saw those horrible pictures and feel terrible that fellow muslims and arabs could be treated in such a way. But i would really like to know the extent to which such abuses occured? were they frequent and were they committed by most soldiers? and how do you think, as someone how has suffered, that these crimes could be condemned and the role the arab world should play in that respect? Also, do u think that these pictures should have been published so widely? May God bless you and help you overcome your pains and wounds.
Answer
Thank you for your feelings. The torture is still going on. Prisoners are still being put in solitary confinement cells. You have all seen it in the published photos: the oppressors were wearing brown T-shirts and khaki pants; they were not wearing complete army outfits. This is done on purpose to conceal the identity of the soldiers.
I want the Arabs, particularly those who will meet in the summit that will be held soon in Tunisia, to look at the situation seriously and not to be satisfied with just condemning it.
On the contrary, I want these pictures to be widely published because it is a proof of the crimes committed by the US and British soldiers against human rights, the very human rights they claim that they came to protect.
Name
Fatimah
- Finland
Profession
student
Question
Salaamu alaykum,
I have an Islamic website and I'd like to ask you some questions.
How americans tortured you in Abu Ghraib? I'm Iraqi myself and I've known that prison for years. How could you descibe their torturing Iraqi women? And men? Is there many children, youth etc.? Are they all doing such things like raping torturing or just few of them?
Answer
Wa alaikum al salam. The methods used in torture vary: electric shocks, excessive beating, forcing the prisoners to rape one another, in addition to other methods, such as unleashing dogs on prisoners, or putting the prisoners in cells without windows, depriving them from sleep, and insulting them. Soldiers knew Arabic insults, which were taught to the, by (imagine!) some Iraqis. Among the prisoners, I saw a boy who is barely 12 years old. They gave him the smallest size outfit to wear which was still too big for him.
As to women, they were placed in the upper floor of the prison, so they were far away from where I was; yet, I saw one thing with my own eyes: on a daily basis they brought in Iraqi prisoners who were hand bound. They unclothed them and tortured them in a place where women could easily see them.
Name
Host
-
Profession
Question
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