Detention in Abu Ghraeb : April 1980 - December 1984
Hostages were imprisoned in the Heavy Sentence Section (consisting of Block number 7 with its annexe and Block number 8) of Abu Ghraeb Prison from April 1980 onwards. Each block consisted of twenty cells, each with a floor area of 5 metres by 4 metres. Each cell held 30 to 35 prisoners. The cell walls were painted black and there were no windows, but prisoners could look through bars into the cells on the other side of the central corridor. Ventilation was by a small vent, 10 cm by 5 cm in size. Each cell had one toilet, but no beds, bedding or lockers. The hostages only had the clothes on their backs. They received one bucket of water per cell per day which had to serve all 30-35 inmates for drinking, washing and toilet needs. One bowl of food, of low nutritional value, was delivered for each cell twice a day. Guards also tried to demoralise the hostages by spitting into the food and putting insects or even shoes into it. Visits from relatives or friends were not permitted initially.

The detainees were woken at 5 a.m., fed and then allowed into the block court yard for two hours. They were again allowed into the yard for two hours in the afternoon. Contact between inmates of different blocks was not permitted. The treatment of the hostages varied with the progress of the war. During Iranian advances they were denied food, water and access to fresh air. As increasing number of hostages were brought in from other parts of the country over-crowding became such a problem that some detainees had to stand to allow others to lie down.

The "Riot" of 30 April, 1981
When Mr Hassan Al-Hadad became seriously ill in Abu Ghraeb Prison, the pleas of his fellow hostages that he be taken to hospital were ignored. He remained where he was without any medical attention and finally died at 6.30 p.m. on 30 April 1981. This enraged and frightened the other detainees. They broke their cell bars and escaped from their blocks, but not the prison itself.

They then roamed the prison, demanding immediate release, in view of their innocence. The guards fired on them, turned tear gas grenades and water hoses on them and cut off the water and electricity. The 'riot' continued until 2a.m. the following morning, when Barazan Tikriti, the head of the Iraqi General Intelligence Service and President Saddam Hussein's half brother (who was the Iraqi ambassador in Geneva) was called in.

He was accompanied by a force of heavily armed men with video cameras and loud-hailers. He listened to the hostages' grievances and promised to improve their conditions. However he stated they would be held as long as the Iraq/Iran war lasted and would not be deported to join their families. He pledged that they would all be released as soon as the war ended, saying 'You are all our brothers. You are only being held for security reasons. If the war ends tomorrow, you will all be released tomorrow. If it ends next week, you will be released next week. If it ends next year, you will be released next year. This order comes from the very top.'

The hostages continued to demand immediate release. They were fired upon again and forced back to their cells. Despite Mr Tekriti's promises, their conditions were not improved. Instead their rations of food and water were reduced even further, the air vents in the cells were blocked up and periods in the fresh air were stopped. The bars of their cells were also repaired and strengthened.

On the orders of Mr Tikriti, but contrary to his statement to the hostages, on 14 July the prison authorities said that about 750 detainees, named on a list, were going to be deported. These hostages were taken to unknown destinations in groups of thirty to forty. Some of the remaining detainees consider that this group had been picked out as the instigators of the 'riot'. The Committee has been unable to obtain any information as to the fate of this group of hostages.

On 12 September 1981 conditions changed slightly and hostages who had relatives remaining in Iraq were allowed to receive visits from them. Visits were then allowed monthly on the 12th of every month and visitor were allowed to bring food, medicine, clothes, bedding and other necessaries. Hostages were imprisoned in Abu Ghraeb until December 1984, when they were all transferred to Qalat Al Salman.

Qalat Al-Salman
Qalat Al Salman Prison is sited in the middle of the desert, about 150 km from Samawa and 80 km from the Saudi border in Ar'Ar region (see map of Iraq) and has no access road. This prison was built in the early 1980's, about five kilometres from the prison of Nugrat Al Salman (which has now been converted into a warehouse for building material). Until testimonies were received from some of the hostages released in the late 80's, Qalat Al Salman was thought to be Nugrat Al Salman.

This prison is practically identical to the prison in Speelik in Galiali Beg district in the safe haven region in north Iraq. It has 16 blocks and 6 annexes. The blocks each hold 200 prisoners and the annexes 30.

The hostages from Abu Ghraeb arrived in three groups, starting on 5 December 1984. They were followed a few months later by hostages from other prisons, such as Al Rashid, Al Fathalia and Baghdad Juvenile Prison.

Conditions in Qalat Al Salman (see appendix I, photos 3,7,10 and 14) were much better than in Abu Ghraeb and prisoners were not confined in their cells. Although hostile at first, presumably because they had been informed that the hostages were Iranian prisoners of war, the guards become much friendlier when they realised that the hostages were Iraqi citizens who had no criminal convictions. Visits from families and friends were again allowed on the 12th of each month (see appendix A, Dr. Ketuly’s testimony) and visitors were allowed to improve prisoners lives by bringing radios, televisions, gardening and sports equipment, cameras, stationery and literature. Unlike Abu Ghraeb prison, basic necessities were provided. However the inaccessible situation made visiting difficult.

Limited "Amnesty"
In October 1985 President Saddam Hussain announced an amnesty, allowing the release of all hostages with immediate family still resident in Iraq. This amnesty was first implemented in January 1986. However, rather than being released, hostages were given militia uniforms and taken to unknown destinations in groups of 50 to 100. This process continued until 1988 when the last group of 200-250 hostages was transferred.

At the end of 1988 all contact with hostages still in detention, including visitors and letters from their families, was cut-off. The only information available since that time is from the testimonies of ex-hostages and their families (see appendix A).

Of the over three thousand hostages held in Qalat Al Salman Prison, only 650 are known to have been released. Before being released, these hostages were divided into smaller groups and spent varying amounts of time in some of the following prisons or military camps: Al Dywania, Al Najaf, Al Karbala, Al Babylon, al Rumadi, Al Tikrit, Al Fathalia, Al Habanya Military Airfield, Al Naharwan Military Barracks, Qalat al Salman (for the second time), Abu Ghraeb Rehabilitation Centre and, finally, to the Baghdad General Security Prison.

On their eventual release, to the best knowledge of the Committee, none of these hostages was given citizenship documents or passports. The Security Service simply gave each hostage a piece of paper with two phone numbers to be contacted in case of difficulty. In some cases there military papers were endorsed with a statement that they had been detained as Iranians (see appendix B).

At present nothing definite is known about either the fate of the three to four and a half thousand detainees in Qalat Al Salman who have not yet been released or the fate of the 750 hostages who were removed from Abu Ghraeb in July 1981. However there are recent, as yet unconfirmed reports that the remaining hostages are again being held in Qalat Al Salman, Al Tekrit and Al Musel Ghazlani, Al Baladyat and Al Hamydia prisons.

On 19 October 2002 Saddam Hussain declared a general amnesty for all prisoners of Iraqi nationality and the following day he extended this amnesty to prisoners from Arab countries. However none of these hostages and no political prisoners in Iraq were released as a result of this amnesty. Although prisoners who may have committed crimes, including serious crimes were released, hostages and detainees who had committed no crimes, but had been imprisoned for reasons of the Iraqi Regime, are still in detention.