Raid Sabah Jassim

Raid Sabah Jassim is a worker from Mosul and is divorced. His former wife was a Shia from Basra. ISIS arrested Raid on the charge of smuggling her outside the city, and of being a Shia himself.

Raid recounts how they raided his house at two o’clock in the morning. They arrested him, his father, his brother, Muhannad, and others, blindfolding and handcuffing them before taking them to the Ahdath Prison. There, they were subjected to all kinds of physical and verbal abuse, such as beating, slapping, kicking, insults, and mockery. They could also hear the cries of other prisoners being tortured.

Raid confirms the presence of female prisoners in the Ahdath Prison. One of them was his sister, who was imprisoned there for ten days, leaving her three-month-old baby behind. He quotes his sister saying that jailers had entered her cell and suggested that she recite the Fatiha prayer for her father and brother, implying they had been executed. This left his sister terrified and traumatized. She later developed PTSD as a result of the torture she suffered, which caused her to lose her baby.

During his interrogation, Raid recalls, ISIS jailers wanted him to admit that he was a Shia and that he had collaborated with the Iraqi Army. They also wanted him to confess to being an enemy of ISIS who had mocked their appearance. Raid then describes the torture methods ISIS used. These included whipping the feet, flogging with a metal chain, electric shocks, boring holes into certain parts of the body with an electric drill, pulling out nails, and amputating fingers. Raid points to the traces of torture left on his body; he has scars from holes being bored into his feet and burns from a heater. He then recounts how the interrogator beat his feet with a billiard cue so hard that it broke – all because Raid had recognized him. The interrogator even targeted the part of Raid’s leg that had recently undergone surgery. But it was the drilling of holes in his feet that knocked him unconscious. The guards subsequently threw him into the corridor under the air-conditioning unit. All the prisoners were subjected to these methods of torture, including Raid’s brother, who was tortured so badly he urinated blood. While some prisoners were maimed like Raid, other prisoners died as a result of the torture. Some pregnant women miscarried.

Raid then moves on to describe the solitary cell, a cramped and dark room about a single square meter in width. The torture a prisoner was subjected to here was no less harsh than that carried out in the investigation room.

The witness estimates that there were a total of around 200 prisoners detained in the prison, including men, women, young people, the elderly, and even whole families. The prisoners were then distributed to group cells. Raid’s cell held around 30 to 40 prisoners, with many accused of being Shia or spying for or collaborating with the Iraqi Army or Global Coalition forces. In addition, there were many ISIS members who had fallen out of favor. Raid refrained from talking to them, fearing that they might actually have been informants. He only talked to his father and brother, who committed themselves to praying and reciting the Quran.

Visits and any communication with the outside world were prohibited, Raid says. That applied to every prisoner who had been accused of being a Shia or an apostate, or of collaborating with the enemy.

Health care was non-existent, Raid says, even though there was an outbreak of scabies and some prisoners had chronic illnesses. Breakfast consisted of bread with a piece of cheese, while dinner was never sufficient and consisted of very-bad-quality food. Cleaning products were not available and water was so scarce that performing ablutions was difficult. Raid says he would use the toilet at dawn as he often felt he was being watched. He says he did not shower for the duration of his imprisonment because of the filth and foul odors. 

Speaking of his release, Raid recounts how the prison was bombed and destroyed by an airstrike. Around 100 prisoners were killed. The surviving prisoners, however, were unable to flee as ISIS special units soon arrived and transferred them to the Dar al-Diyafa Prison. From there, they were moved to the Qaimaqamiyaiya Prison, where a judge ordered their release. Raid was handed his belongings and then left barefoot to return to his family. Their reunion was emotional. The family remained under house arrest and constant surveillance until ISIS control of the city ended.

Finally, Raid describes his psychological well-being after his release. To this day, he still suffers from nervous episodes and nightmares. He has lost trust in everybody and has distanced himself even from his friends. He has withdrawn from society and is focused only on taking care of his family.