Release Muhsin al-Khafaji - Close the US/UK prison camps in Iraq

Dear friends,

It's been said that saving a single life is saving the whole humanity. Please, keep this in mind when you read the following appeal.

Thank you.

Gabriele Zamparini


Release Muhsin al-Khafaji - Close the US/UK prison camps in Iraq

Who is Muhsin al-Khafaji?

- Born in Iraq, 1950 in Nasiriyah

- His novel “Smell the blood on the stones of the mountains” won a literary prize, and he also received first prize for the best collection of short stories in 2000

- Translated numerous short stories into English and other languages

- Head of the Writers’ Union in Nasiriyah in 1992

- Imprisoned after the popular revolt of 1991

- Worked as an interpreter for Japanese reporters during second Gulf War

For more than two years, Iraqi writer Muhsin al-Khafaji has been held without charge or trial in the US-run prison, Camp Bucca in southern Iraq. Family and friends say he is in poor health, and fear that he will not survive the notoriously bad conditions in the prison camp.

When last visited by friends in January 2004, he told them that he had no idea why he had been arrested. During his last interrogation in September 2003 he signed a statement provided by the camp authorities, promising not to sue them for damages after his release.

According to Amnesty International around 9,000 detainees are held at Camp Bucca. Two Palestinian students, who were released from the camp in August 2005 told the human rights watchdog that they suffered humiliation and torture at Camp Bucca including being forced to stand for hours in the heat of the sun. According to the Washington Post, the average length of incarceration at the Camp is one year. A recent report by the United Nations mission in Iraq expressed deep concern that nearly 12,000 Iraqis are being held by the occupying forces.

Human rights groups across the Arab world are calling for the release of Muhsin al-Khafaji and for the closure of the occupiers’ prison camps in Iraq.

What you can do to help:

Write letters of protest

Prime Minister, Republic of Iraq
c/o HE Dr Salah al Shaikhly
Iraqi Embassy
169 Knightsbridge, London
SW7 1DW
Fax: + 44 (0) 20 7589 3356
Email: lonemb@iraqmofa.net

and to:

Donald Rumsfeld
Secretary of Defense
Office of the Secretary
The Pentagon
Washington
DC 20301
USA
Fax: +1 703 697 8339
Click here to send appeals via the US Department of Defense website

Send a copy to Tony Blair’s Special Envoy to Iraq
Ann Clwyd MP
Prime Ministers’ Special Envoy to Iraq on Human Rights
House of Commons
London SW1A 0AA
Email: clwyda@parliament.uk

Pass a resolution in your trade union branch or community group:

- condemning the detention of Muhsin al-Khafaji and thousands of other Iraqis without charge or trial by the occupying forces;

- calling on the US and UK governments to release them without delay.

For more information: release_muhsinallkhafaji@yahoo.co.uk