Posted on 12/27/2005 5:39:10 AM PST by Calpernia
The Hooded Man from Abu Ghraib: The Rest of the Story
by Laura Mansfield
Do you remember this image? (See attached PDF file for image)
The hooded man is Haj Ali al Qaisi.
Haj Ali is known throughout the world because of this photograph showing him with a black hood over his head, standing on a box, with electric cords on his hands. The photo came to represent torture in Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq at the hands of the American military.
Haj Ali, who now lives in Jordan and heads a group called the "Organization of Victims of US Occupation Prisons." He claims to continue to have nightmares and panic attacks, and claims that his hand still hurts from the “torture” that the photo illustrates.
In fact, Haj Ali wants to go on the international speaking circuit, and has tried to obtain visas to visit Austria and Italy. His visa applications have been denied.
When this story first broke, many pointed out that those treated in this manner were not likely to be petty criminals but were very likely to be suspect of more serious crimes.
It seems that in the case of Haj Ali, these suspicions are warranted, and are the reason that he has been denied visas to enter Italy and Austria.
The German publication Die Presse reported this morning that the Austrian Interior ministry claims that “Haj Ali al-Qaisi shows up in the Schengen database. The entry comes from Germany, and it involves matters from the Saddam Husayn period."
According to Die Presse, the ministry refused to divulge further details.
They report that before fall of Saddam Hussein’s government, Haj Ali was an official of Saddam's Ba'ath Party and acted as Mukhtar (village governor) in al-Madifai, a small village near Abu Ghraib.
Die Press says that Haj Ali claims that he did not do anything wrong during that time.
However, the publication cites reports from former Iraqi exiles which detail atrocities allegedly committed by Haj Ali.
Die Presse quotes an Iraqi named Ali al Zahid, currently living in Vienna and Munich, who says "Haj Ali was a secret service henchman. During his time as local governor, 38 persons were executed. Another 17 are still missing." Al Zahid claims that he and his entire family were maltreated for several months in one of Saddam's prisons.
According to Die Presse, al Zahid cites the case of a 17-year-old from al-Madifai, who was murdered by the regime in 1998. Al Zayid us quoted as statingL "I spoke with the victim's mother. She told me that her son had been taken away by Haj Ali and secret service agents. Twenty-eight days after the arrest, Haj Ali personally dropped off the 17-year-old's blood-soaked shirt with the words, ‘He cried like a girl.’ “
A translation of the article from Die Presse follows:
Iraqi Exiles in Austria Claim Former Abu-Ghurayb Prisoner Was Saddam Henchman "The Secret of the Hooded Man" Die Presse
Haj Ali became a symbol of the Abu-Ghurayb torture scandal. Iraqis in exile now accuse the ill-treated man of having blood on his own hands as a henchman of Saddam.
Vienna -- He is marked by the mistreatment, allegedly has nightmares and panic attacks. His left hand still aches from the torture that was inflicted on him. Haj Ali al-Qaisi is a victim of torture -- one of the most prominent torture victims in the world. The picture of the Iraqi went around the world: A man with a black hood over his head stands on a box, with electric cords on his hands. Haj Ali is the symbol for the Abu-Ghurayb torture scandal.
Today, he lives in Jordan and heads the "Organization of Victims of US Occupation Prisons." He has made it his mission to report on what US soldiers did to him and other Iraqis. In numerous interviews with Western media, Haj Ali described his ordeal: how the US torturers in Abu Ghurayb stripped him naked and bound, mocked, and beat him. How he stopped being a human being and became prisoner number 151716.
Haj Ali had also wanted to come to Italy and Austria to inform the public there of his dreadful experiences -- on the ORF "Vera" broadcast, for instance. Both of these countries, however, have denied him entry.
"Haj Ali al-Qaisi shows up in the Schengen database," the interior ministry says, in response to an inquiry from. "The entry comes from Germany, and it involves matters from the Saddam Husayn period." The ministry refuses to divulge details about this. Haj Ali's life did not first begin with his arrest by US soldiers. Before the United States marched into Iraq, he was an official of Saddam's Ba'ath Party and Mukhtar -- village governor -- in al-Madifai, a small village near Abu-Ghurayb.
According to his own account, he did not do anything wrong during that time. Former Iraqi exiles see it differently, however: "Haj Ali was a secret service henchman. During his time as local governor, 38 persons were executed. Another 17 are still missing," reports Ali al-Zahid to. Because of critical statements by his father, al-Zahid and his entire family were maltreated for several months in one of Saddam's prisons. Today, the young man lives in Munich and Vienna. He is a leading member of the new "Iraquna" Austrian-Iraqi friendship society.
Al-Zahid says that in his investigations, for instance, he came across the case of a 17-year-old from al-Madifai, who was murdered by the regime in 1998. "I spoke with the victim's mother. She told me that her son had been taken away by Haj Ali and secret service agents." Twenty-eight days after the arrest, Haj Ali personally dropped off the 17-year-old's blood-soaked shirt with the words, "He cried like a girl." That, at least is what the abducted victim's mother says. Was Haj Ali then a victim, a perpetrator, or both? First a governor by the grace of Saddam and an alleged secret service informer, he was later himself a victim of torture. It is a fate that is contradictory and symptomatic for Iraq, two and a half years after Saddam's overthrow.
(Description of Source: Vienna Die Presse in German -- independent centrist daily)
-------------------------------------- For more translations and news on terrorism, visit http://www.lauramansfield.com
Al-Zahid says that in his investigations, for instance, he came across the case of a 17-year-old from al-Madifai, who was murdered by the regime in 1998. "I spoke with the victim's mother. She told me that her son had been taken away by Haj Ali and secret service agents." Twenty-eight days after the arrest, Haj Ali personally dropped off the 17-year-old's blood-soaked shirt with the words, "He cried like a girl." That, at least is what the abducted victim's mother says.
ping
You can say that again (Oops, already done,...but seriously, outstanding info, a good bit of info to retort the next poster of alleged US atrocities,...commit to memory Haj Ali).
But if Al-zahid was instead, an Einsatzgruppenfurher, he would've been hunted down like Eichmann. But since he's Muslim, he's a victim, unlike the "poor Germans" of yesterday.
Why is he free in Jordan?
Sure helps me understand what McCain's intent was in stopping 'torture'!!!! (Sarcasm)
If he isn't guilty of anything, why is he living in Jordan? Must be he's afraid of what his victims will do to him if he returned to Iraq. I wonder if he was a participant in the hotel bombings in Jordan.
But did they fart in his general direction? Gimme a break. This guy had this treatment - and worse - coming. He should be thankful that it was the US who got him instead of his own people. I'm sure that mama wouldn't have minded taking things quite a bit further. I know I wouldn't.
Torture? This excrement needs killing. I read this last night before bed and I couldn't get that quote in post 1 out of my head all night. I still have a haunted sensation from it. I wasn't as affected by the beheading videos as I was from this.
I'll join you.
Yeah, that pic needed to be here. I couldn't do it though. Thanks Alouette.
I hear they made him sing "I'm a Little Teapot"
That is why it is a War On Terrorism and not a declared war on a country.
They should have strung colored lights on him and made him sing "O Tannenbaum"
If the insurgents had gotten to him, he may had his head taken off, not just a hood put on him.
prisoner6
He tortures and murders a 17 yo and then cries like a baby that he was mistreated? He can dish it out, but he can't take it. What a wuss.
Fox just reported another mass grave with 100s, including children. I have no sympathy for this guy.
"That is why it is a War On Terrorism and not a declared war on a country."
Yes it is like the 'final' clash to save civilized societies and some days liberalism appears to be the safe house of this man's mentality.
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