Maher Talal Sultan

 

Maher Talal Sultan is married with six children. In 2016, he and others were arrested for possession of 200 cigarette packets. ISIS members arrested them on a farm in the Muthanna area of the Rahmaniyah village on the outskirts of Mosul.

 

In this testimony, Maher says he was initially detained for around ten days in a house in the Faisaliyyah area. He was hanged from the ceiling for days, and was tortured continually. He was also given an injection and told it was going to make him confess everything. 

 

He was later transferred to another house in the Dawwasah area. He was kept there for around 50 days. He was also flogged. Maher explains that the prison (or house) was bombed by the international Coalition. He and other prisoners tried to escape, but they failed. Consequently, they were transferred to the Meyadn Prison.

 

Maher spent around two months in the Midan Prison. During that time, he was interrogated three times without being tortured.

 

Turning to the prison daily routine, he says the prisoners spent their time sleeping, eating, and praying. During the night when the guards were not around, prisoners had a bit more freedom to talk. They bantered and told jokes to alleviate their misery. Older prisoners counseled younger ones and tried to allay their fears.

 

Moving to health care and food, Maher says the water in the prison was polluted, which added another layer of misery. Prisoners suffered from diarrhea and other illnesses as a result. Maher, who is diabetic, was not given his medicine throughout his detention. He adds that food in the Meyadn Prison was even worse than in the previous two prisons. Prisoners were served cheese and bread for breakfast, pasta or potatoes for lunch, and bulgur (crushed wheat) or rice with a little broth for dinner.

 

During his detention, Maher did not know that his family was negotiating with ISIS for his release. His brother had to pay 10,000,00 dinars (about USD 7500) in exchange for his release. However, ISIS members refused to release him and demanded more money.

 

After around two months in the Midan Prison, Maher and two other prisoners made a plan to escape. They planned to break the locks of the cell and escape over the roof at night when there were fewer guards around. At midnight on a cold rainy night, they put their plan into action. However, they did not jump from the roof until three am when all the guards had left except one called Abu Qusay.

 

The escape attempt failed. Maher broke his back in the jump, and was forced to seek help from a nearby house. However, it turned out the house was inhabited by ISIS members, and he was immediately taken back to prison. 

 

Maher explains that the escape attempt had consequences. ISIS officials ordered the closure of the prison and the transfer of the prisoners to other prisons. Consequently, Maher was moved to a Hisba prison. He spent another two months there, even though he was badly injured from the roof jump.