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
Ladies and gentlemen, the poster boy for the Democrat Party.
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Proof again that FREEDOM for Iraq is THE Answer.
Tran Blasts Dean: Calls for Solidarity in Iraq
http://www.Freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1536289/posts
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Does THIS answer your question?
Ted KenneDhimmi and his quisling cronies made "panties on the head" equal to what Haj Ali did under Saddam's Rule!
KenneDhimmi deplored the VERY same behaviour he his nephews do at the KenneDhimmi Compound with unwitting women over Easter Vacation (Right Willie KenneDhimmi-Smith?)!
I'm sure the "Rape Room" has a nicer name at the KenneDhimmi Compound...probably the "Rose Room".
>>>>Fox just reported another mass grave with 100s, including children. I have no sympathy for this guy.
Thread on that now:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1547488/posts
re: not a declared war on a country
I don't understand for the life of me why Congress can't declare "war on terrorists" and as a result advise anyone, anywhere that they are our enemies if they seek to do us harm. It might not do much legally, but it sure would be a confidence builder for Americans to have the President say, out loud, the kind of people we consider our enemies and say, REAL LOUD, the countries that are hiding or otherwise protecting or encouraging them.
>>>>but it sure would be a confidence builder for Americans to have the President say, out loud, the kind of people we consider our enemies and say, REAL LOUD, the countries that are hiding or otherwise protecting or encouraging them.
He has.
That happened long before we got to Iraq.
Excellent. Where's his mother, I'd like her address, to tell HER that he cries like a baby. You know, I'd like to see and meet the mothers of THESE men.
I really feel the need to feel extremely blessed to be a free ma.
I would really like to have some of these women over for a good bitch slap.
"That is why it is a War On Terrorism and not a declared war on a country."
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It should be a declared war on Islam.
I'm no history scholar, but aside from the US prison system, has islam ever been spread by other means than the sword?
re: He has
I agree, but it's been a long time and I would like to see his new speech punctuated by him waving a Congressional declaration of war!
Sometimes I get the feeling that he's the ONLY one in Washington that understands what is needed to win this war.
It isn't a declared war on Islam because our war isn't stopping at the terrorist flavor of Islam. Islam couldn't have reached our shores without the assistance of the terrorist flavor of the left. Our war is on them too.
Example:
The enemy is within.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1489385/posts
My Enemy's Enemy by George Crile
(snip)
It was only the beginning of the extraordinary maneuvers Wilson had to make to push this bill through a highly reluctant Congress. By then even his most reliable ally, John Murtha, the chairman of the Defense Appropriations subcommittee, wanted to end the CIA program. Murtha was appalled at reports of the mujahideen's drug trafficking, but in the end he stood with Charlie, and his support guaranteed the bill's passage in the House. It was passed in the Senate that fall. The secret appropriation was hidden in the $298 billion Defense bill for fiscal year 1992. When it was presented for a vote, no one but the interested few noticed the $200 million earmarked for the Afghans.
(snip)
He then did a big favor for then-Speaker Thomas P. "Tip" O'Neill Jr. (D-Mass.). The chairman of the Defense Appropriations subcommittee at the time, Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.), had been caught in the FBI's ABSCAM sting operation in which an agent disguised as a Saudi sheik offered members of Congress large cash bribes. O'Neill put Wilson on the Ethics Committee to save Murtha, which he did. In return, O'Neill assigned Wilson to the defense appropriations subcommittee and made him a life member of the governing board of the John F. Kennedy Performing Arts Center, where he delighted in taking his young dates.
(snip)
Rep. John Murtha (PA)(1981) H. REP. NO. 97-1004, 97th Cong., 1st Sess., at 6 (1983) Bribery and conspiracy Preliminary inquiry voted (May 28, 1981); dismissed (July 28, 1981) (Special Counsel resigned) Resolutions to investigate (Oct. 2, 1980 and March 4, 1981) Rep. John Murtha (PA)(1981)
H. REP. NO. 97-1004, 97th Cong., 1st Sess., at 6 (1983)
|
Bribery and conspiracy |
Preliminary inquiry voted (May 28, 1981); dismissed (July 28, 1981) (Special Counsel resigned) |
Resolutions to investigate (Oct. 2, 1980 and March 4, 1981) |
ABSCAM Investigation; recused from ABSCAM-related investigations (member of Standards Comm.) |
As for Islam, Arabic is our tool also. It doesn't translate word for word. It translates as per context. We are redefining the translations to support 'Islam Lite' in our rebuilding of Iraq.
I agree. I, too, am very impatient for calling a spade a spade. I could never go into politics because I have no tolerance to wait for the other shoe to drop.
I Bet he cried like a Girl /sarcasm off
"We are redefining the translations to support "Islam Lite" in our rebuilding of Iraq."
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And it will bite us in the a$$! Islam and its supporters must be wiped from the face of the planet. As another FReper so aptly put it."I learned all I need to know about islam on 9/11."
You are right, we have been bit in the ass before. Hopefully with staying the course this time, the rebuilding will be different.
I have a daily ping list of GNFI postings. They are inspiring and support the course we are taking.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=gnfi
I only learned about Islam on 9/11 myself. I not only saw it with my own eyes, I lost loved ones. I smelt that horror for months to follow. These are my pics, except for the first aerial shot.
http://www.newyorkcitycommunity.com/ground0.htm
Ping...don't know if you'd seen this.
Regarding that last link of yours...
My stomach hurts...
Such a wonderful accomplishment from a totally innocent victim.
BTTT
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