'Man In The Hood' Tells Of His Tale In Abu Ghraib

'Man In The Hood' Tells Of His Tale In Abu Ghraib

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 6 (Bernama) -- Ali Shalah, popularly known as 'the man in the hood' in a famous photograph depicting the torture suffered by Iraqis at the American-run Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad, today spilled the beans on the inhumane treatment he received at the detention centre.

Ali, who now heads an organisation representing tortured victims in Iraq, captivated some 2,000 people with his story at the three-day War Crimes Conference at the Putra World Trade Centre, organised by the Perdana Global Peace Organisation headed by former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

"My nightmare began on 13th October, 2003, when I was arrested and put in a small room, which I later found out to be a toilet, which was flooded with water and human waste. I was interrogated in that room.

"They asked me if I was Sunni or Shiaa. I replied that we didn't have that kind of difference in Iraq. They also claimed that I had helped instigate people to oppose the occupation and to reveal the location of Osama bin Laden.

Some notable excerpts:

Ali said he was interrogated twice during his stay at the infamous prison but "I heard that detainees were tortured using lighted cigarettes and by injecting hallucinogens".

He said the next morning he was asked the names of resistance fighters in Iraq and when he replied that he did not know any, they inserted a jagged wooden stick into his rectum, followed by the barrel of a rifle, which caused him to bleed profusely.

Soon after this, the former lecturer said he was forcefully placed on top of a carton box containing canned food, had wires connected to his fingers and ordered to stretch his hand out horizontally, and the electricity was switched on.

"As the electric current entered my whole body, I felt as if my eyes were being forced out and sparks were flying out. My teeth were clattering violently and my legs shaking violently as well. My whole body was shaking. I was electrocuted on three separate sessions," he said to pin-drop silence in the hall.

So this is how to get the job done right? Most here know that the CIA commonly used hallucinogens to provoke prisoners so there appears to be some merit. I wasn't aware that shoving wood up peoples asses was considered best practice for interrogations, but then again Bush is running this show.

Hey I realize war is hell but this is probably just scratching the surface. To find out after all this mans suffering that he was wrongly arrested and dumped off on some side road like a piece of garbage comes as no surprise, thats just american sentiment oozing all over the place. And we wonder why the US can't get results in Iraq.

src: globalresearch.ca...

brill

remind me of the legality of this (i really am not sure)...

is this against the geneva conventions???

remember, though, terrorists don't belong to any particular army (and they're not in uniform or anything)...

please enlighten me...

Article 3 describes minimal protections which must be adhered to by all individuals within a signatory's territory (regardless of citizenship or lack thereof): Noncombatants, combatants who have laid down their arms, and combatants who are hors de combat (out of the fight) due to wounds, detention, or any other cause shall in all circumstances be treated humanely, including prohibition of outrages upon personal dignity, in particular humiliating and degrading treatment.

(Article 17): "No physical or mental torture, nor any other form of coercion, may be inflicted on prisoners of war to secure from them information of any kind whatever. Prisoners of war who refuse to answer may not be threatened, insulted or exposed to unpleasant or disadvantageous treatment of any kind."

src: en.wikipedia.org...

I don't claim to know specifics of the Geneva Convention I'll be honest its more of a basic overall understanding.

Point is the man was arrested and then later released indicating he was innocent. If he was guilty(or even thought to be a threat) I can only assume that they would have not released him. The perception is he was considered a terrorist/insurgent. Further since he was innocent his tales of how he was handled and interrogated will only fuel the already overwhelming US resentment.

brill


[edit on 8-2-2007 by brill]

Brill, thanks for the thread. I've just started reading A Question of Torture: CIA Interrogation, From the Cold War to the War on Terror, by Alfred W. McCoy.
The tiny silhouette on the cover is of this incident.

This is one book I have to put down every so often to avoid a worse sickening feeling. It explains in general the significance of the hood, the posture, the wires.

A human being in an office in Washington would have to be pathological to say we are not torturing. Plus, the efficacy of this torture and its consequences over time to the nation that employs it is questionable on the first and disturbing on the second.

God help us.

Originally posted by they see ALL
remind me of the legality of this (i really am not sure)...

is this against the geneva conventions???

remember, though, terrorists don't belong to any particular army (and they're not in uniform or anything)...

please enlighten me...

I hope you are being sarcastic. If you ask me, that's mad homosexual to stick a object in a guy's rectum.


He's not a terrorist. Don't you get it? These tactics will NEVER work. And it's homosexual sadism to boot. But you can pretend it didn't happen. But it did and it was co signed by the United States

How can anyone defend this crap?

We are going to have to deal with threats in this country without engaging in these kinds of practices. Or We Lose... We are losing already because of this and countless other acts of depravity.


And don't give me this (in mushmouth voice) (BEE_BEE BEEE BUT why you HATE DA TR BBBB OOOPS "

Know what a terrorist looks like?

This guy blew up an Iraqi police truck with a phone. Wow!!!

www.liveleak.com...

He had no gun or rocket launcher.


Remember, this guy is innocent since it was a phone in his hand.
[edit on 9-2-2007 by deltaboy]

[edit on 9-2-2007 by deltaboy]

Originally posted by deltaboy
Know what a terrorist looks like?

This guy blew up an Iraqi police truck with a phone. Wow!!!

www.liveleak.com...

He had no gun or rocket launcher.


Remember, this guy is innocent since it was a phone in his hand.
[edit on 9-2-2007 by deltaboy]

[edit on 9-2-2007 by deltaboy]

Umm the guy we're talking about was released. As I very clearly pointed out above that would likely lead to the conclusion that he was innocent. That didn't seem to matter as he was sexually molested and threatened, all for doing nothing wrong. What you fail to understand is that by antagonizing the innocent you lose support on a front that your so desperately trying to claim victory on. How can you possible succeed by humiliating those who are just living their daily lives.

brill

eh war is a dirty game. Does anyone here think that any americans captured in iraq get treated better? oh wait a minute, they are hung, shot,beheaded and blown up when kidnapped...geneva bleh! Innocent people die everyday. People are tortured everyday and its sad but a fact of life. At least the guy didnt get any serious std's from the stick....or did he