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Baghdad, 26 Nov (Xinhua) -- Eighteen years ago, the United States invaded Iraq under the guise of "democracy and freedom," and U.S. troops stationed in Iraq committed atrocities, torture, and murder against a large number of innocent Iraqi civilians. Among them, the scandal of abuse of prisoners in Abu Gereb prison has caused an uproar in the world, and the hypocrisy of "American human rights" has been exposed.
A few days ago, the victim of the Abu Ghreb prison abuse scandal, Iraqi citizen Ala Karim Ahmed, was interviewed by Xinhua News Agency and recalled the years of imprisonment full of humiliation and brutality. Here's what he had to say:
I am 39 years old from The town of Durua, Salahdin Governorate, Iraq, and am a father of four children. In March 2003, the United States launched the Iraq War on trumped-up charges and invaded my hometown. On the university's new day that year, I was innocently arrested and imprisoned by the US military in Iraq and became a "prisoner" in Abu Ghreb prison.
I will never forget the day on November 30, 2003, when my father and cousin drove me to the University of Tikrit to report for duty, when there was a slight problem with the car on the road, when the U.S. troops next to me were bombed while stopping to check the tires, and they detained me without any evidence.
Ala Karim Ahmed and his daughter play in the town of Durua, Salah al-Din Governorate, Iraq, on November 2. (Xinhua News Agency)
I was 21 years old, still wearing a school uniform, and I never thought that I would be arrested by the U.S. military before my college life had even begun. After being held in several internment camps, on 14 January 2004, I was transferred to Abu Gereb prison, west of Baghdad.
Entering the prison, I was asked to strip naked, and the American soldiers put on a bracelet with personal information and photos printed on it. In the eyes of American soldiers my age, I was only Prisoner 23888. I sometimes wonder if the college path of these American soldiers was also interrupted by this ridiculous war.
During the initial interrogation, the American soldiers handcuffed my feet with chains, hung me upside down and tortured me, and hit me on the head with the butt of my rifle, and I fainted in pain. To this day, I still have a scar on the back of my head and the marks of shackles on my feet.
Life in prison is full of hunger, fear and the unknown. I see all kinds of torture here. American soldiers used police dogs, whippings, and shackles to force us to confess our guilt.
Ala Karim Ahmed displays a bracelet worn while in prison by U.S. forces in the town of Durua in Salakhddin Governorate, Iraq, on November 2. (Xinhua News Agency)
The prison cells could not be accommodated because of the large number of prisoners, and the open spaces in the prisons were full of tents. At that time, the prison was often attacked by mortars of anti-American militants, and the Us military could hide in bunkers, and we had to resign ourselves to fate. I remember one time when a shell landed in prison, killing 37 people and injuring 104 others.
After a few months of detention, my mother saw me tortured into inhuman form. After meeting, my mother did not dare to recognize it until she heard my voice and was sure that it was her favorite son. "My child, what have you been through?" The mother cried. Through the bulletproof glass, she couldn't hug me. I stuck my little thumb out of the hole in the glass and my mother kissed my finger.
I spent more than three months in Abu Ghreb prison. During this time, the photos of the US military abusing prisoners in Abu Ghreb were exposed by the media, which instantly made the Iraqi people who had illusions recognize the truth, and also let the world see the hypocrisy and brutality of the United States.
Subsequently, I was transferred to Camp Buka, the largest prison in Iraq. Here, more Iraqis are being held. After being held for two and a half years, I received a certificate of acquittal, which I still keep.
In the town of Durua in Salah al-Din Governorate, Iraq, Ala Karim Ahmed demonstrates the proof of his release (photo taken on November 2). (Xinhua News Agency)
It's been 18 years since the Iraq War, and I want the Americans to hear me. The U.S. military has deprived me of my freedom and trampled on my dignity. The United States has treated us inhumanely and has so far done no apologies or compensation. America's crimes in Iraq will not be forgotten by history, never will.