Bassem Muhammad Ali Rashid

Bassem Muhammad Ali Rashid doesn’t remember when he was detained because he was a juvenile at the time. He believes that his arrest could have been either in 2000 or 2001. He was arrested for smuggling fuel. Bassem was taken to the Jamarek Prison and then moved to the Ahdath Prison, which at the time was a juvenile detention center. Bassem recalls how he was placed in a large group cell with around 100 inmates and two supervisors.

When Bassem was first imprisoned, he was overcome with emotion, as he suddenly found himself among inmates whose charges ranged from theft to murder. He felt that his smuggling charges were nothing compared to the other prisoners’ offenses. He recalls spending his time sleeping and wandering along the long cell hall while counting the tiles on the floor. 

Bassem says the inmates were treated poorly. Jailers would take them out into the sunny yard for two hours, but when they returned to the cell, jailers would conduct a roll call in a very hostile manner. There was nothing in the cell except toilets and mattresses on the ground. 

Bassem was worried about being hurt because his fellow inmates were criminals who had committed horrible crimes. Therefore, he slept during the day, and kept company with two inmates with whom he had become friends. He states that there was no order in the prison, and decision-making was often delegated to a powerful prisoner who served as their warden. That man behaved very poorly toward the prisoners, so Bassem tried to avoid any interaction with him. Bassem also noticed that nepotism and discrimination were prevalent practices in the prison. He describes how prisoners were distrustful and cautious of each other, which restricted their freedom inside the cells and in the yard. Regarding informants, Bassem says that whenever an issue arose, there was always someone ready to report it to the officials.

Bassem says he was not subjected to torture while at the Ahdath Prison. Yet, even though jailers did not beat the prisoners, they were always humiliating them, either emotionally or verbally. He recalls how he was slapped by a jailer in the Jamarek Prison in an attempt to make Bassem confess to where he had stored the fuel. He also recalls the torture, dread, and terror he experienced when he was detained by the Tikrit Security Guards of Saddam Hussein’s regime. At that time, he was flogged, beaten, and placed in a solitary cell.

According to Bassem, visits to the Ahdath Prison were allowed on designated days, but only in the yard, and inmates had to be handcuffed. The prison food was extremely unappealing, and only prisoners whose families had abandoned them would eat it. Therefore, Bassem and his two friends would usually share the food that their families brought them on visiting days. But the guards would not allow them to take food into the cell unless they gave them bribes of cash, cigarettes, or other similar items. As they slept, their leftovers were often stolen. 

Those who fell ill were taken outside the prison for treatment, as health care within the prison was non-existent. Conditions were also unhygienic, as the cell was only washed with water once a week. In addition, inmates rarely took care of their personal hygiene. As a result, Bassem and his friends kept themselves and their belongings away from other inmates.

Bassem recounts several remarkable incidents he observed in prison. One involved a prisoner charged with rape and murder. That particular inmate received special treatment because he was the son of an official. Another incident involved two prisoners caught engaging in sodomy, which sparked uproar among the inmates. Those prisoners were permanently removed from the group cell and never seen again.

Bassem was surprised that a place where children were held didn’t offer any mental health support for the children. He says that the center was entirely ignored by both government and non-governmental organizations such as child rights organizations.

Finally, he speaks of how he was released. He had to pay a fine, and his car was confiscated. He remembers how joyful he was upon his release, how quickly he left, and how he left his belongings behind for his two friends. Bassem never returned to visit his friends and does not know what became of them. He praises God for lifting this burden from him.