Ali Ahmad Hasan

Ali Ahmad Hasan works as a driver. He is married with three daughters and one son. ISIS arrested him at home in 2014 on suspicion of collaborating with Iraqi security forces, which to ISIS meant ‘apostasy.’

His car was confiscated, and he was taken handcuffed and blindfolded to one of the ISIS bases. From there he was transferred to the Ahdath Prison. All the while, he was beaten, insulted, and threatened with death.

Ali describes how, on arrival, his personal belongings were taken from him and he was given Afghan-style clothing to wear as a prison uniform. He was held in a cramped solitary cell before being summoned for interrogation at night.

Ali was summoned several times for interrogation. He describes the torture he was subjected to, detailing how he was positioned in the room, and the attitudes of the judge and interrogators.

He confirms that all these procedures were written down and filmed. He says that the interrogators tried to pressure him into collaborating with them, threatening him with death and intensifying the torture each time he refused.

Ali describes being whipped on the feet and flogged on the back, particularly with a bamboo stick. This torture generally continued until it knocked the prisoner unconscious, and was accompanied by insults, curses, and accusations of apostasy. In this context, Ali recalls a university professor who was arrested because of a book he had written. Ali believes he was probably killed during a torture session.

Ali recounts the distress and dread he experienced, especially while in the solitary cell. He says the daily death threats left him in a constant state of anxiety, and that he spent his time crying and praying for salvation. He then speaks of the group cell he was later moved to, estimating that there were around 50 to 60 prisoners in the cell, including many prominent members of Mosul society, such as university professors and senior military officers. Most of the charges brought against them were to do with collaborating with the Iraqi government or otherwise being an enemy of ISIS. Ali says that most of them — including himself — were considered guilty of ‘security charges’ and were therefore sentenced to death. And ISIS did indeed execute many of them. They even broadcast the executions to the other prisoners on a screen. 

Ali adds that the group cell was surveilled by a camera, and that ISIS informants were most likely planted among the prisoners. That made them careful not to talk too much or to behave in a way that would attract attention. Despite this, a special kind of relationship developed between the inmates. This helped them to manage certain issues, and was particularly useful when people fell ill. Ali recalls how the cries of prisoners being tortured could be heard in the group cell. The victims kept pleading for mercy from their tormentors, who acted as if they were deaf.

Regarding hygiene, Ali says that the odor of filthy toilets spread throughout the prison, as well as the smell of sweat, as it was the height of summer. There was neither enough water nor sufficient cleaning products to wash with. Even the toilets were monitored by cameras.

As for food, Ali says that for breakfast they received either a triangle of cheese or a single boiled egg. For other meals, ISIS provided them with lentil soup. Portions were irregular and never sufficient but no one dared ask for more. Moreover, Ali reports that health care was nearly non-existent; ISIS barely provided a single pill and, of course, the jailers couldn’t care less if anyone died.

The jailers were all masked, and they called each other by their noms de guerre. Nevertheless, Ali is convinced that most were locals from Mosul.

Ali then recounts a painful incident he witnessed. Two brothers were sentenced to death on charges of collaborating with Iraqi security forces and for being Sufis. The judge gave the two men the option to decide whose life would be spared and whose would be taken. One of them sacrificed his life to spare that of his brother, voluntarily choosing to be executed.

Ali then narrates the end of his prison experience. First, he was transferred to a prison in one of the churches in Mosul that ISIS had seized, and then to the Qaimaqamiya Prison. There he was summoned before the judge, who released him. Yet the judge decided to confiscate Ali’s second car, just as his first car had been seized when he was initially arrested.

At dawn on the day of his release, ISIS members drove him around the neighborhoods of Mosul before throwing him onto the street in the Northern Garage area. He hailed a taxi, and the driver, who was moved to tears, refused to accept any fare for Ali’s ride home. His whole family — his father, mother, wife, and children — was shocked to discover he was still alive, though ISIS had told them he was dead.

Finally, he recounts with sadness the physical scars that the imprisonment has left on his body. He now suffers from slipped vertebrae in his back and jaundice of the liver. Then there is the psychological toll, which still affects him. He is plagued by nightmares and wakes up feeling suffocated.

Ali says that ISIS ruined his life. He is now more concerned for his family, particularly his children, who suffered a great deal because of his imprisonment. He concludes by thanking and praising God that he has been rescued from ISIS.