15th April 2003 - For Immediate Release

Attn: NEWS DESKS

POLITICAL/FOREIGN CORRESPONDENTS

IRAQI HOSTAGES STILL ALIVE AFTER 23 YEARS

Dr Kamal Ketuly, the Chairman of the Committee for the Release of Hostages and Detainees in Iraq has today sent the following letter to US President George Bush and UK Prime Minister Tony Blair requesting that an official investigation team be sent to Iraq to ascertain the whereabouts of surviving hostages and the fate of those who did not survive.

In the letter Dr Ketuly said:

“We wish to tell you of our joy that the overthrow of Saddam Hussein and his Ba-athist regime has been achieved with so few casualties.

You will be aware that in 1980 Saddam commenced the expulsion of over one million Iraqi citizens to Iran, and that he detained roughly 100,000 members of the deportees' families in order to ensure that they look no retaliatory action.

Some were later released, some died as human shields during the Iran / Iraq war, some died as a result of chemical or biological warfare experiments, some died by being forced to clear minefields with their feet, and some died simply form the hash conditions in which they were kept. Contact with all but a very few was lost after 1984. By 2002 it was estimated that between 3,500 and 4,000 were still alive in captivity, and we have a list of the names and details of over 900 who have been accounted for. On 30 March 2003 we learned from Kurdsat TV that a group of Iranian POWs had been released and sent back to Iran. 35 of them deemed to be Iraqi citizens and were not accepted by Iran who returned them to the PUK authorities. 14 of them were hostages.

Therefore we know that at least some of our hostages are still alive.

Following the coalition's stunning victory there has been much damaging of Iraqi government property and we fear that documents that would help trace the missing hostages may be destroyed. We therefore request that the American and British governments send an official investigation team working jointly with this Committee, to Iraq as soon as possible to ascertain the whereabouts of surviving hostages and the fate of those who have not survived.

I enclose, as background information, our most recent leaflet although it is now slightly out of date.”

A copy of the leaflet is attached.

Contact Dr Ketuly on 0044 (0141) 945 3911 or Ian Hunter Tel: 0044 (0141) 649 1093