Ali Muhammad al-Hamad

At the time of the interview, Ali Muhammad al-Hamad, from Raqqa, was a 22-year-old married man.

Ali had lost his father when ISIS executed him for helping people flee to areas under the control of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). Then he too was arrested, and charged with collaborating with the SDF, in the summer of 2015, two or three days after his older brother had traveled to an SDF-controlled area. They accused him of having passed information about ISIS to his brother. He was detained for around a month in the Stadium Prison.

In his testimony, Ali recounts how, as he was brought into the building, he was beaten until he tripped and fell down the stairs. That was only the beginning of the torment.

In front of the investigation room, Ali recalls that he underwent six interrogation sessions, each lasting about two hours. During these sessions, he was blindfolded, with his hands tied behind his back. He was not able to recognize any of the ISIS men, except for the Egyptian interrogators, who tortured him with their hands, with sticks, and with shoes, treading on his head whenever he fell on the ground. They also threatened to behead his brother in front of him, just as they had beheaded his father before. All the while, Ali could hear the cries of other prisoners being tortured. 

Regarding torture methods and devices, Ali lists suspension via a hoist, flogging with a green hose known as “Lakhdar Brahimi,” and standing for lengthy times in solitary cells. He recalls the horrific atmosphere and how it made him wish for death.

The witness then moves to the narrow solitary cell, where he was forced to spend five days standing up. Afterwards, he was transferred to a slightly bigger cell, where he sat with prisoners accused of infidelity to Islam, collaborating with the Global Coalition, or selling cigarettes. Talking with fellow inmates was forbidden. Violating the order might result in beatings or being sent back to solitary. The jailers were often very harsh, calling the prisoners “infidels,” and “descendants of atheists and pigs.”

Ali says that he did not witness or hear of any executions, but does raise the case of an inmate called Abdullah, who was taken by ISIS and never returned. Ali believes that Abdullah was probably sentenced to death and killed.

Regarding daily life in prison, Ali says that he spent his time praying and asking God to save him from his torments.

Regarding hygiene, Ali describes the place as extremely filthy. Although water was available, it was not sufficiently plentiful, and the toilets soon became dirty and foul-smelling. Ali had to endure these odors after he was transferred from the solitary cell to a cell next door to the toilets. Because ISIS did not provide any cleaning products other than soap, it was impossible for the prisoners to keep their living space clean. The mattresses and blankets were dirty and may have transmitted disease. One foam mattress and one blanket were allocated to each inmate, and these had been used by many others before. Occasionally, two inmates had to share one blanket.

Regarding food, Ali says there were three meals a day, generally consisting of rice or bulgur. The same food was served for breakfast on occasion. Medicine was provided to the prisoners, but in limited amounts.

Ali says that visits from friends or family were prohibited. He did not notice any favoritism toward certain prisoners or any influence from intermediaries – at least not during his stay.

Remarkably, Ali mentions the presence of a woman among the men in the large group cell. He only discovered this on his final day, when the prison was bombed. The men heard the female prisoner crying out, so helped her, carrying her from the wreckage in a blanket.

Finally, Ali narrates the details of his escape. When the prison was bombed the first time, the halls were destroyed. The second strike blew open the large gates, allowing him and some other prisoners to flee into the streets. But ISIS members recognized their prison uniform and chased after them, capturing some and then beating and even killing them. Ali managed to take refuge in a building, however, and eventually made his way home. He then traveled with his mother and sister to Oneisa, which was under PYD (Democratic Union Party, the Syrian branch of the Kurdistan Workers Party) control. Once there, he was finally free of ISIS.