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.