Testimony of Saddam Saleh Al Rawi
June 3, 1004

On May 22 CPT Iraq retracted a testimony given by a detainee recently released from Abu Graib prison. After further investigation, CPT has confirmed that the original testimony sent out on May 12 is valid. The following is a paraphrased version of Saddam's testimony, as recorded a second time by Matt Chandler and Sheila Provencher at the Human Rights Organization in Iraq in Baghdad on May 15, 2004. CPT verified this testimony by checking Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) detainee lists. The CPA's record confirms that Saddam was captured on November 28, 2003,[a one-day discrepancy] and that his sequence number was 200144. Under "Crime Accused Of," the CPA list says only "Security Detainee/MI-Hold" which means that he was arrested without charge but that Military Intelligence (MI) wanted to interrogate Saddam. This file has explicit language that reflects the culture of interrogation.

On November 29, 2003, my brother and I were in Baghdad shopping for our weddings [both were engaged to be married soon]. I was in the Al Sadoun neighborhood of Baghdad when I saw a car that I suspected had a bomb in it. I went to an Iraqi policeman I knew, named Suhair. Suhair told his superior officer, and then the Iraqi Police took me to a US Army base on Palestine Street.

At the US base, I saw a US soldier with two bars on his helmet (Captain) and a non-Iraqi, non-military translator. They didn't interview me; they just talked to the Iraqi policemen who brought me in. Then the captain tied my hands in front of me and put me in a room. Along the way, the captain was abusive. He pulled on my collar, shoved me around, and kicked me in the thigh. I stayed in that room alone for over two hours, until an Arab translator in fatigues and two US soldiers entered. One recognized as a specialist by his uniform, as was the other one a sergeant first class, named Bruce. They sat me on the floor and questioned me. They asked about my name, my work, why I was in Baghdad, and my relationship with the group who made the bomb in the car. I told them I had no relationship with those who put the bomb in the car. I just saw that it was suspicious and told the police about it. The soldiers weren't abusive. Bruce actually made some jokes.

They left and night came. I hadn't had any food or water yet. I only had one cup of tea. It was a cold and rainy night. I had no blanket and no mattress, so I couldn't sleep all night.

The next day, before noon, two men in civilian clothes, carrying strange weapons, came in, put a hood on my head, tied my hands behind my back, and took me outside. They put me in a car and drove me to an unknown place. They were not abusive. After a while, we stopped and they led me into a cell. They took off my hood, and I could see that I was in an outdoor cage with wood and metal bar walls, a mud floor, and no roof. They left me there alone with my hands still tied behind my back. I still hadn't received any food, water, or blankets.

On that first day, an American man in civilian clothes and an Iraqi translator who had his face covered came in and abused me severely. They didn't ask me any questions. They just beat me and accused me of being a terrorist. The American beat me repeatedly with his hands all over my body and on my face, especially my eyes. The Iraqi man mostly kicked me. He kicked me in the nose and I bled all over. Then they left me alone. No one came to treat my wounds, feed me, or give me a blanket. I spent that night on the ground with my hands still tied.

The next day, the same American and Iraqi men brought me water and one MRE [Army-issued meal ready to eat]. The American retied my hands in front of me so I could eat and drink. That evening, the two men questioned me, asking what I studied, what was my work, when I was in the Iraqi Army and what was my job, what was my address, where Osama bin Laden was, where Saifedeen [#8 on the Iraq's Most Wanted list] was, and where Saddam Hussein was. I was afraid they would hurt me or my friends and family, so I didn't answer honestly. I gave them a fake address. But I was honest in my answer about Saddam Hussein. I said he was probably in Balad or Tikrit [north of Baghdad] where his family tribe was located. The American sat in a chair during the interrogation. Whenever he was not happy with my answer, he kicked me and said things like, "Shut the fuck up!" and "Bullshit!"

The next day—the third day in the cage—was the same routine. The American and Iraqi brought me some water and one meal, and interrogated and beat me in the same way as the day before. I still had no blanket or medical treatment.

On the fourth day, they tied my hands in back, hooded me, put me in some military vehicle and drove me to an unknown location. When we arrived at the destination, some people took me inside a room, took off my hood and untied my hands. I was in an office with many computers and many male and female US soldiers. The took all of my personal belongings, including my identification, some documents, $350 US and 1,940,000 Iraqi Dinars, giving me no receipt. (I had so much money with me because I was in Baghdad to buy many things for my wedding and my brother's wedding). They took prints of my index fingers and scanned my eyes. During the eye scan, I could see a reflection of my face, and I saw that my eyes were blue and swollen. They gave me a wristband with the number 200144, and then they hooded me again and took me to another room.

They took my hood off and I could see that I was alone in a small room with a bed frame and two blankets. They gave me clothes, a hat, a coat, shoes and slippers. They also gave me a copy of the Koran, water and cigarettes. I stayed in this room for two days, with no questionings, no idea of what were my charges and no communication with my family. They fed me two meals per day, and allowed me to go to the toilet once per day, which wasn't enough, so I had to pee in my empty water bottles.

After these two days, some soldiers came in and tied my hands behind my back, hooded me, took me outside, and put me in an armored personnel carrier with seven other detainees. They drove us to another location, took us inside a building, and removed our hoods. I recognized that we were inside Abu Ghraib prison. They took us into an office with computers. They took my picture and gave me the same identification number. They also conducted a strip search. After that, two doctors—one male and one female—asked me about my injuries. I told them about my beatings in the cell a few days before. They asked, "Why didn't they bring you here first?"

After the examination, a man I latter learned was called Sergeant Joyner, put another hood on my head and retied my hands. Sergeant Joyner took me out of the office to another room, intentionally smashing my face against several doors along the way. He left me with my hands tied and my head covered. I realized there were others in the room with me. Their hands were also tied, but they were unhooded. I asked one man to help me take off my hood because I was having a lot of difficulty breathing. When he did, I saw all of the other men—about three or four all together—were completely naked. I was so shocked and disgraced that I asked the man to put my hood back on, which he did.

I spent more than one hour in this room before soldiers came and took me out into the hall. They untied my hands and asked me to strip. I refused to because it is forbidden for Muslims. They forced off my clothes and beat me. One of them shouted in my ear. Then they made me stand on a box with my hands on my head for one hour. Then they beat me again and poured cold water on me. Next, they made me hold a plastic chair over my head for a long time. All along, I could hear them laughing and snapping photographs. (I could see the flash of the cameras through my hood.) I became so exhausted that I fell down and hit my head on the wall. They took off my hood at that point and continued laughing. I saw Sergeant Joyner, an Egyptian translator who wore fatigues, named Abu Hamed, two male soldiers, one with glasses, and one female soldier.

Then a soldier from another group came and peed on me. Other soldiers then dragged me along the floor in the hall and did other similar things to keep me awake all night.

When the night was over, they put me in room 42 of section 1A of Abu Ghraib prison. It was a small room with a bunk-bed frame, a water tap, and a toilet. I had no mattress or blankets and no food. I was still naked and very tired. I sat against the wall, shivering and trying to sleep. I could see through some small openings in the wall that the sun was rising.

That morning, one man, a US sergeant first class named Ivan, and one woman, a US sergeant, took me into another room. I was still unhooded and untied. They gave me some cloth to cover myself. Sergeant Ivan threatened me, saying that if I didn't give up any information, he would have other soldiers rape me. (Abu Hamed was translating.) I was so stunned that I couldn't reply.

The soldiers I mentioned continued to torture me there in section 1A over the next 18 days for 23 hours per day. They used ten rooms especially for torture. (The published photo of a man tied with his back against a bunk bed and panties over his head is from one of these rooms.) Some of the things they did to me were as follows. They put my hands and legs through the bars of a cell door, tied them together, and left me there for a long time. They played loud music so I couldn't sleep. Whenever they took me out of my cell, they used dogs to threaten me. They left me naked the entire time. They hog-tied me. They beat me repeatedly all over my body. One time they knocked out two of my teeth [lower left molars].

All the while, there were no investigations and no medical treatment.

After these 18 days, they began to interrogate me again. I just didn't care anymore. I answered yes to all of their questions. I told them I was with Ansar Al Islam [a well-known terrorist group], the Mohammed Army [another terrorist organization], and Al Qaeda. I told them I knew Zarqouwi [an Al Qaeda leader] even though I had never heard of him before. "I am his driver," I said. I also said I knew Osama bin Laden. More so, I said, "I am Osama bin Laden. I did the explosions on September Eleventh." The interrogators just said, "Bullshit!" to all of my answers and beat me.

I spent three months in room 42 in section 1A, including those 18 days of torture. The guards fed me one MRE every 12 hours and I drank cold water from the tap.

At the end of this period, some soldiers moved me to another camp, which was like a hospital. I was weak at that time, and I had many health problems. Then they sent me to camp 7, tent 2. Still, until this point, I didn't know the charges against me.

On March 25, 2004, some soldiers gave me a paper in Arabic with my charges"suspected member of a terrorist group." The paper said some other things about the Geneva Conventions. They told me to sign it. I wrote on it that I just wanted to know my charges so I could defend myself. Then I signed it.

They released me on March 28, 2004. During the release process, they apologized, and they gave me a document"Release Form For Detained Civilians," signed by Lieutenant Colonel Craig A. Essick, the camp commander. [Saddam showed this document to Chandler who believed it to be an original] They also gave me $10 US and some clothes to wear, but they never returned my property.

Some of the people who tortured me, including Abu Hamed, the male soldier with glasses, Sergeant Ivan, and one woman, are now in the published photos. I remember the names of others who tortured meSergeant Schneider, Sergeant First Class Pear, and Nicholai. These soldiers did terrible things to other detainees in Abu Ghraib as well. I have information about Nickolai raping a 16-year-old girl. I saw Sergeant Schneider raping another woman from Basrah. I also saw a soldier sodomizing a young boy from Falluja, named Haider, with a broom handle.