Urgent appeal for releasing the prisoners detained in Iraqi prisons

World Association of Arab Translators and Linguists (WATA) - 11 March 2010

On behalf of the World Association of Arab Translators and Linguists, an intellectual, cultural and scientific organization and one of the Arab intellectual forums seeking and striving to bring peace and security as well as confronting oppression and oppressors worldwide. And on behalf of its twenty-eight thousand members over the world; we wish to bring to your kind attention this urgent and important appeal concerning the tragic and illegal situation being suffered by a large number of scientists, intellectuals, officials and community leaders of the people of Iraq, who have been suffering for more than six years in the prisons of both US occupying forces and the illegal government installed by the US occupation there.

We address your Excellency as the general secretary of the largest international organization, and as we strongly believe that you don't only represent your international capacity but also represent the human conscience in its noble values and ideals. Therefore, after countless appeals to other relevant international and Arab organizations and celebrities, however nothing has happened to put an end to the tragedy of the Iraqi prisoners which contradicts the most basic humanitarian principles. We hope to bring our appeal directly to your kind attention. You are a man of grave responsibility; occupying the most prominent and influential position in the world. We ask you in the name of the human conscience that moves and motivates you; and in the name of millions of Iraqis and Arabs who are deeply agonizing, and who place their hope in your kind human spirit, to act at once to secure the release of the prisoners who have been wrongly jailed in the prisons of occupied Iraq. Their health is severely deteriorating since they are suffering from many dangerous diseases, in addition to being advanced in age as many of them have reached the age of sixty and seventy.

By this appeal we do believe that you know the horrible consequences of occupation, as your country, Korea, was under occupation during the last century. The occupation of Iraq remains a shameful stain on the forehead of humanity: a wrong decision as declared by your predecessor Kofi Anan. Whatever is built on false foundations is inherently wrong; a violation that contradicts the values of the civilized world and is merely an armed robbery and infiltration in the dark, not to mention the illegality of the prisons of occupation, anywhere in the world.

With broken hearts we would like to inform you that the USA occupying forces in Iraq have locked-up more than (162,000) hundred and sixty-two thousand Iraqi citizens in more than (50) prisons and detention camps including (28) camps run by US occupying forces, in addition to many undisclosed investigation and incarceration centers over Iraq.

The number of detainees registered in International Red Cross records is around (71,000) Seventy-one thousand, the other detainees are not recorded with the IRC because they are arrested at US detaining centers where visits by the Red-Cross representatives are denied by the occupying forces and thousands of war prisoners and old age detainees have been imprisoned and detained for more than six years suffering from unbearable and painful living and health conditions.

Among the detainees there are (520) women detained by the US forces as hostages in place of their husbands or sons who have escaped detention by the US occupying forces. In prisons run by the US occupying forces there are also more than (900) children of less than fifteen years of age and (470) of them are less than twelve years of age. In the government prisons there are (1400) children less than fifteen years dumped into crowded and filthy cells. There are also (12,000) persons detained by mistake or under suspicion who are still detained for many years.

More tragic is the incidents of dead bodies, dumped in the streets of Iraqi cities, belong to detainees who had been tortured and murdered dreadfully in Iraqi government prisons run by government militias and Iranian intelligence forces. The occupying forces who are legally responsible for the safety of the Iraqi citizens are aware of those incidents but do nothing to stop the tragedy!!!! and the reasons for such an attitude are unknown!!!

The above-mentioned is the general condition of Iraqi prisoners, but the condition of scientists, leaders, diplomats, ambassadors and ministers who have participated in building Iraq and its progress during the last three decades, is not any better. There is a selection of the best scientists and Iraqi citizens suffering hardship in the dark dungeons of Iraq, waiting their lord’s mercy and the stance of honorable people like your good self to free them from the shackles of dark prisons comparable to the darkness of our country’s occupation.

At what era were prisons considered dwellings for scientists and free citizens but not for outlaws? When was science and serving people a monopoly of one nation and not the other? These honest people committed no crime other than serving their people with honor like other human beings. When we talk about these prisoners they represent a wide section of Iraqi scientific, administrative and military brains that focused on building their Iraq and serving their people.

They are Iraq’s loyal sons, representing its wide social spectrum, including Tariq Aziz, the diplomat well known on international and Arab levels, who is suffering from bad health in addition to being of old age, along with the minister who served his people, such as Dr. Mohammed Mehdi Saleh, Minister of Trade and Hikmat El-Azzawi Minister of finance, the innovator Amer Mohammed Rashid, who is well known for his innovations and scientific efficiency along with other scientists and the professional military officers who have defended their Iraq such as the military leaders well known among world armies Sultan Hashim, Ayad Flaih, Hasan Rasheed and prominent administrative leaders such as Samir Aziz El-Najm, Aziz Salih El-No'Man, Khidr El-Khafaji, Abdul Husein Haidar and other Iraqi citizens well known for their impartiality and integrity (a list with their names and positions is attached), and thousands of honest Iraqi nationalists, who have been victimized by the darkness of imprisonment, injustice and arrogance, these people have not committed even what deserves a verbal accountability other than serving humanity in their fight against ignorance and cultural underdevelopment through the advancement of science.

Is anyone who has performed such a humanitarian work supposed to be made accountable and punishable? These scientists and leaders are neither under legal suspicion nor their scientific honor make them the subject of any accusation, to deserve being locked up in dungeons under fake pretext and faced with intentional silence by an occupying force whose crimes and tyranny have reached unbearable limits.

Therefore, we implore your Excellency, as the Secretary—General of the UN, to use your good offices to secure the release of the Iraqi prisoners dumped in the prisons of the US occupying forces and the Iraqi government installed after the occupation and to stress the importance of releasing women and children, old aged and the sick among the scientists, political leaders, administrators, military and civil personnel as their long term incarceration is of extreme injustice in addition to being in violation of the 4th Geneva charter and the rest of international law system. Listening to the voice of the persecuted and aggrieved and their supporters is considered a civilized act which we cannot imagine you can deny, while it is sought after by all intelligent human beings. Such good deed would be entered in your record and the record of the organization under your leadership.

Note: We would be grateful for any feedback by your Excellency's office on any progress on this appeal.

· Tariq Aziz Issa: Member of the national leadership, member of the Revolutionary Command Council and Deputy Prime Minister

· General Ali Hassan al-Majid: Member of Iraq leadership of Arab Baath Socialist Party, member of the Revolutionary Command Council and commander of the southern region, executed recently.

· Mizban Khadr Hadi: Member of Iraq leadership of Arab Baath Socialist Party, member of the Revolutionary Command Council and commander of the Middle Euphrates region.

· Aziz Saleh Noman al-Khafaji: Member of Iraq leadership of Arab Baath Socialist Party

· Mohammed Abdul Razzaq al-Sadun: Member of Iraq leadership of Arab Baath Socialist Party

· Latif Nassif Jassem al-Dulaimi: Member of Iraq leadership of Arab Baath Socialist Party

· Samir Abd al-Aziz al-Najim: Member of Iraq leadership of Arab Baath Socialist Party

· Muhsin Khadr al-Khafaji: Member of Iraq leadership of Arab Baath Socialist Party

· Dr Saif al-Din Mahmoud al-Mashhadani: Member of Iraq leadership of Arab Baath Socialist Party

· Abdul Ugla Saqr Al-Kubaysi: Member of Iraq leadership of Arab Baath Socialist Party

· Khamis Sirhan Bashir Mohammadi: Member of Iraq leadership of Arab Baath Socialist Party and official of party's organizations of Karbala

· General Abid Hamid Mahmoud al-Tikriti: Secretary of the President of the Republic

· Abdul-Ghani Abdul-Ghafoor al-Fleih Mudlij: Counselor in the Presidency, former member of Iraq leadership of Arab Baath Socialist

· Dr. Amir Rashid Muhammad: Counselor in the Presidency, former Minister of Oil

· Watban Ibrahim al-Hassan: Counselor in the Presidency and former Minister of Interior

· Dr. Sabaawi Ibrahim al-Hassan: Counselor in the Presidency and former Director of General Security

· Jamal Mustafa Abdallah: Presidency Head of Tribal Affairs Office and deputy secretary of the President of the Republic

· Abdul-Hussein Haidar Mohammed Azayrjawi: Secretary of the organizations of Arab Baath Party, province of Karbala, director general in the Republic President Office

· Comrade Saadoun Shaker: former member of Iraq leadership of Arab Baath Socialist Party and then adviser in the presidency

· Lt. General Ayad Futayyih Khalifa al-Rawi: Commander of Jerusalem Army, commander of Republican Guard and former Army Chief of Staff

· General Hussein Rashid Mohammed: Secretary General of the Armed Forces General Command

· Brigadier General Barzan Abd Al-Ghafur Sulayman Majid: Commander of Special Republican Guard

· Brigadier General Abdel Karim Jasem Nafos: Division Commander of Republican Guard

· Qa'ed Hussein al-Awadi: Governor of Najaf, and then official organizations of Arab Baath Party in Mosul

· Maj. Gen. Farhan Mutlaq al-Jubouri: Director of Intelligence, northern region

· General Ma'ed Ibrahim Khalil: Director of the Office of Vice-President of the Revolutionary Command Council