U.S. Troops took Iraqi mother, sister hostage as "bargaining chip"
Wednesday, April 06 2005 @ 11:02 PM Central Daylight Time
turks.us
?An Iraqi suspected by US occupation troops of carrying out attacks in Baghdad revealed that US forces took his mother and sister hostage as a bargain chip.
Arkan Mukhlif Al-Batawi, who spoke to Reuters Tuesday, April 5, at the offices of the leading Sunni Association of Muslim Scholars (AMS), said US soldiers searched his home Saturday, April 2.
“Last Saturday morning, about 20 Humvees (military vehicles) surrounded our house and neighboring houses and when they failed to find us they took our mother and sister,” he said.
Batawi said he was not sure why the troops wanted to arrest him and his brothers, Muhammad and Saddam, again.
All three were released in August from Abu Ghraib, which became notorious last year for horrific abuses of prisoners by US troops.
Neighbors interviewed around Arkan Mukhlif Batawi’s home in the capital’s Sunni Arab suburb of Taji corroborated his account.
They said US troops, accompanied by Iraqi police, had arrested Batawi’s 65-year-old mother and a sister who is 35.
“The Americans attacked the house of the Batawi family. They were searching for the brothers. When they could not find them they took the women,” said one neighbor, Kamal Abbas.
“Through a translator they told us that they will release the women when the men surrender.”
Bargaining Chip
A message purportedly left at the house by the troops, which urged the brothers to surrender, contained a mobile telephone number.
“Be a man Muhammad Mukhlif and give yourself up and then we will release your sisters,” read a handwritten sign in Arabic on the front gate of his house.
“Otherwise they will spend a long time in detention.”
It was signed “Bandit 6,” apparently a US Army code, possibly designating a company commander.
The US 3rd Infantry Division is active in the area.
When Reuters called the mobile telephone number at the bottom of the message, an American answered, saying he was on a military patrol.
Asked about Batawi’s accusation, he said: “I can’t comment on that. The commander will call you back.”
Hours later, a second call elicited the same response before the American, who would not identify himself, hung up.
Batawi said he would be willing to give himself up again if the Americans provided guarantees that his mother and sister would be freed.
“But if they do not release our mother and sister we will be ready to attack them wherever they are,” he said.
Not the First
If true, the troops would have again offended local sensibilities about the treatment of women.
Amnesty International said they could also have broken international law by taking hostages.
“I do not think it is the first time,” Middle East spokeswoman Nicole Choueiry said of Batawi's case, according to Reuters.
“We are against it. It is against international law to take civilians and use them as bargaining chips.”
While questioning relatives is seen as legitimate among police forces worldwide, holding them as hostages is not.
The London-based human rights group said in a report last month that several women detained by US troops had spoken in interviews with them of beatings, threats of rape, humiliating treatment and long periods of solitary confinement. |
