Iraq’s Disappeared

Although the U.S. has supported efforts to document the missing persons and mass graves of Saddam Hussein’s regime, authorities have not worked to locate the people who have disappeared during the U.S. occupation.

The U.S. has never accounted for the Iraqis detained or killed before May 1, 2003.  Nor have U.S. or Iraqi authorities accounted for countless Iraqis who have disappeared since then. Many Iraqi families have asked for aid in finding their loved ones. Some claim that other Iraqi detainees, now released, reported seeing their loved ones in U.S.-run prisons. Others witnessed the actual capture and detention of their loved one, but have never found his name on any detention list. Still others simply know that their relative left home one day and never returned.

The names of the missing have never appeared on the list of detainees held in the U.S.-run detention system in Iraq. A U.S. official in Baghdad who worked in Iraq’s detention system admitted to Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) in the spring of 2004 that documentation errors could cause a detainee to “disappear” into the system. “Theoretically, he would never be released because no one would ever know he was there. But that shouldn’t happen. We’ve documented everyone.”

CPT has worked with several families of the disappeared. Most have given up hope. Their despair only deepens a growing anger at the U.S. occupation and strengthens the Iraqi resistance. Please work and pray for justice for Iraq’s disappeared and their families, in any way that you can.   Write to the authorities - see below for a sample letter and addresses.

Profiles of the Disappeared

1. Akram Kashkul Ali al-Dulaimi
2. Arras Turky Hadi Hussain
3. Dehya Mahdi Ali Baker
4. Hayder Thamer Salman
5. Mohammed Abbas Fraiyh Abd al Dulaimy
6. Wisam Adnan Hameed Ismaeel Hussain
7. Yasser Hameed Al Mohamedy

Sample Letter and Addresses

[Date]

[Name]
[Title]
[Address]

Dear [insert name],

I am writing to express my concern for [insert name of disappeared] and for countless people in Iraq who have disappeared during the U.S. occupation.

[insert name of disappeared] disappeared on [insert date]. [Insert some details from the selected profile of the disappeared].

Although the U.S. has supported efforts to document the missing persons and mass graves of Saddam Hussein’s regime, authorities have not worked to locate the people who have disappeared during the U.S. occupation.

The U.S. has never accounted for the Iraqis detained or killed before May 1, 2003. Nor have U.S. or Iraqi authorities documented the countless Iraqis who have disappeared since then. Many Iraqi families have asked for aid in finding their loved ones. Some claim that other Iraqi detainees, now released, reported seeing their loved ones in U.S.-run prisons. Others witnessed the actual capture and detention of their loved one. But the names of the missing have never appeared on the list of detainees held in the U.S.-run detention system in Iraq.

Many families simply know that their relative left home one day and never returned. Christian Peacemaker Teams in Iraq have worked with a number of such families. Most have given up hope.

Their despair and the injustice of the situation only strengthen the Iraqi resistance and lose “hearts and minds.” Please do all you can to address the plight of the disappeared in Iraq. If the U.S. truly intends to bring justice and freedom to Iraq, it is incumbent upon us to work for and model the justice we claim to teach.

As a beginning, please:

• Insist that U.S. military authorities document all Iraqis killed, detained, or disappeared before May 1, 2003.
• Urge U.S. and Iraqi authorities to establish a “Missing Persons” bureau that will focus on persons who disappeared since the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

Thank you for your time and attention.

Sincerely,

[Your name and address]