Murawah Ahmad al-Jassem

Murawah Ahmad al-Jassem is a graduate of the College of Pedagogy, in the Department of Early Childhood. He was arrested by ISIS in early 2015 after they raided his home in the Shaitat area, to which he had just returned after months of displacement.

Murawah was arrested as a result of his appearance in a video obtained by ISIS. The video showed him among volunteers at the Khalaf al-Alyan Hospital who were assisting fighters of the Shaitat clan who had been wounded after their clashes with ISIS.

Murawah recounts being blindfolded and brought to the Battar Battalion prison in the Hawi area, where he was held in a group cell with about twenty other detainees. It was a two-story prison divided into group cells and rooms designated for other purposes.

A few days after his arrest, Murawah was interrogated and beaten to force him to confess to two charges: fighting alongside Shaitat clansmen, and aiding the wounded at Khalaf al-Alyan Hospital. He denied both charges, although he had indeed assisted the injured.

During interrogation, his jailers tried to determine if he had any weapons or money they could seize. Murawah believes that his knowledge of religious issues somewhat lessened the severity of his sentence.

Murawah then spent 24 days in a pitch-black, cramped solitary cell, which was essentially a tiny bathroom. He was given no food on the first day, and only crumbs of stale bread afterwards. He was taken to the torture room every day, where he was hung from the ceiling and endured beatings with a green hose. The jailers once led him to a blood-stained pit outside, where one jailer nearly slit his throat. He held a knife to his throat and cut him, stopping only at the last moment.

After his period in solitary, Murawah was returned to the group cell, where he found the inmates had changed. Most were now relatives and friends from his area. He was finally able to wash and change his clothes. Murawah recounts that the prison officials and jailers were mostly Libyan, Moroccan, and other foreign fighters. They used unfamiliar words and phrases, and referred to each other with titles and noms de guerre rather than actual names.

Murawah says the group cell was overcrowded with Shaitat clansmen. They avoided discussing the clan's battles against ISIS, fearing informants might be among them. According to Murawah, "The hatred for our clan was so intense that no mediation could help – not even if it was accompanied by a bribe."

The food in the group cell was somewhat better than in the solitary cell, and prisoners received basic medical attention, with a few painkillers and injections made available. However, lice spread quickly due to poor hygiene.

Murawah recounts his final court appearance, when a judge accepted his story that he had been in the hospital only to help a relative. The judge asked if he had ever fought against ISIS or joined the Free Syrian Army, and Murawah’s denial led to his release.

A day after the trial, ISIS left Murawah on the street. His first exposure to sunlight in weeks made him dizzy. He waited there until a relative saw him and took him home on his motorbike.

Years after his release from the Battar Battalion prison, Murawah still suffers from the physical and psychological effects of the experience. He is receiving treatment for his knees and shoulder, and avoids going near the site of his imprisonment due to the trauma it evokes, though it is close to his home in Kashkiya.