The Dilemma of Foreign Prisoners in Iraq

By Ma'ad Fayad, Asharq Al-Awsat. Posted December 4, 2008.

As Colonel Mumin Abu Bakr, the warden of Sousa Prison in Iraq, and his assistant Hussein Mohamed affirmed that the situation in the prison was “normal” and that the Iraqi Ministry of Justice, to which it is affiliated, is able to provide the prisoners with all the necessary requirements for their comfort, a group of non-Iraqi Arab prisoners complained that their own governments are neglecting them, and demanded to be transferred to their own countries of origin.

Colonel Abu Bakr told Asharq Al-Awsat via telephone from his office, “We have arranged workshops for, u electronics, mechanics, carpentry, tailoring, and hairdressing. We have also provided a drawing and sculpture workshop, a library, and a music room. There are almost 30 different football, basketball, and volleyball teams as well as a theatre club which has performed almost 20 musical and theatrical productions. This is in addition to a sports club and a medical centre.”

Colonel Abu Bakr added, “The prison administration allows prisoners to contact their families by phone, whether they live in Iraq or elsewhere. There are also family visits that take place weekly on Sundays and Mondays, as well as visits by the International Red Cross twice fortnightly.”

He explained that there are around 260 non-Iraqi Arab prisoners of various nationalities in a total prison population of 1,500. The remainder are Iraqis.

Hussein Mohamed, the warden’s assistant, revealed to Asharq Al-Awsat that “the prison administration has granted the release papers of 37 prisoners who have completed their sentences, and the Iraqi Ministry of Justice has decided to transfer them to their countries of origin. We are waiting for the actual transfer to be conducted by the International Red Cross, in the same way that two Syrian prisoners were previously returned to Syria.”

He added, “The prison administration provides excellent living conditions for the prisoners. In addition to what Colonel Abu Bakr said, we also allow the prisoners out of their cells for almost six hours a day to play sports or just to walk around.”

Hussein Mohamed continued: “The majority of the inmates are convicted on charges of crossing borders illegally and there are some charged with terrorism and murder. Their sentences range from one year to life imprisonment.”

Asharq Al-Awsat spoke to a number of non-Iraqi Arab inmates chosen at random to describe their condition in jail. The prisoners stated that the U.S. troops who had arrested them had taken their passports and did not hand them over to the courts along with their other documents so as to conceal evidence of the prisoner’s legitimate entry and presence on Iraqi soil.

A Tunisian prisoner, Abdullah Habib Abdullah, 44, who previously lived in France said that he had been “sentenced to imprisonment for 15 years on charges of illegally crossing the border,” and has served three years and seven months adding that he legitimately entered Iraq through Syria. “I was injured in Tal Afar in the same week that I arrived there.” He confirmed that “the living conditions within the prison are very good, and we live in peace, practicing our hobbies, and we receive consistent medical attention.”

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