The story of Red Cross and Seyed Ali Akbar Aboutorabi

Rest House no. 13

Narrator: Colonel Mohammad Khosh Niat

Selected by: Fariba Almasi
Translated by: M.B. Khoshnevisan

2024-8-13

In the year 1363(1984) and after a few months after our transfer to Mosul Camp, Haj Seyed Ali Akbar Aboutorabi came also there. He had been captured in the first days of the war. Earlier, we had heard a lot about him from the captives who had gone to the Intelligence Department and been tortured. We knew that a person named Haj Aboutorabi who is both a clergy and a member of IRGC, unfortunately his identity has identity has been disclosed and is under the hardest tortures of the Ba’thist regime. We were praying for his health. The captives said that in the intelligence cells, we could hear his moans and the recitation of Do’a Tavassol, and he was constantly under torture, but whenever he got the slightest opportunity, he would come to the prison corridor, guiding the captives. His coming to the camp was also a strange story, in this way that: in the Intelligence Department, one of the Iraqi generals tortured him a lot, so much so that when he can't make him surrender, he hits him on the head with a nail.

(This torture caused him to have nervous problems until the end of his life.)

When he was brought to the camp and the Red Cross delegation interviewed him for the first time, the same general assigned one of his spies, who fluent in English, to monitor him so that they could find out what Haj Agha wanted to tell them. When the Red Cross people asked him about the way the Iraqis treated him, he says, “no, we have no problem, our situation is good and the Iraqis treated him very well”.

After the Red Cross delegation left, the Iraqi representative called Haj Agha to his office and said to him: "Why didn't you say that we tortured you? We expected you to complain to us!" Haj Agha refuses to answer at first. But when he saw the general's insistence, he says: "We are both Muslims." How can I, as a Muslim, complain about my religious brother to a non-Muslim who has no idea what his intentions were for coming to this camp?!"

The Iraqi general was strongly influenced by Haj Agha's words. He cried and said: "Hajj Agha, I beg you, tell me what I can do for you to compensate for those tortures? I will go and ask Saddam to release you."

“No, don't do that” he counters. “I don't want you to release me, just give me one promise that I will visit the camps and be among the prisoners of my countrymen.”

The Iraqi general promised and kept his promises, and so, Haj Agha was constantly moving around the camps, was in contact with all the captives, heard their pains, and solved their problems and guided them.

We had heard many such stories about Haj Agha, but had not yet met him. Until a few months after we were transferred to the Mosul camp, we found out that he had also come to the camp.

At the end of Farvardin 1363 (April 1984), one day after taking the afternoon statistics, while the captives were going to the rest houses, the gate of the camp was opened. A number of captives entered the camp along with Iraqi soldiers. The Iraqis transferred these people to the rest house no. 13 without any beating. Considering the history of this camp where every newly arrived prisoner was beaten, it was surprising to everyone why this group of prisoners was not beaten. But we were all happy that the Iraqis have become wise. I was admitted to the camp hospital on that day due to a serious injury. Anyway, we didn't know who they were and how many they were. We asked the Iraqi soldiers who sometimes came behind the window to inspect, how many these prisoners were. At first, they did not answer, they refused. Finally, after a lot of insistence, one of them said: “There are 50 people.”

Apparently, they did not know Haj Agha. We asked, “New or old captive?”

They said, “Old!”

We asked, “Who are they?”

They didn’t answer anymore. The next morning, the doors of the rest houses were opened as usual to take statistics. Everyone followed his responsibility and duty. Some went to the newly arrived prisoners to find out how many there were. It didn't take long before there was a commotion among the captives that Haj Agha Aboutorabi was among the newly arrived captives. When the news spread in the camp, we were all happy. All the captives had gathered in the rest house no. 13. The rest house was full of people and no one thought of breakfast anymore. They all circled like butterflies around Haj Agha. I did not go forward because I had heard how much Haj Agha was affected by the news of wounded captives. However, he walked and talked with the captives from morning until the time of noon prayer and from noon prayer until evening, and they heard his advice, and he only managed to perform his noon prayer during that day. Until it was sunset. I wish that evening would not come. At around 4 or 5 in the afternoon, the Iraqi soldiers came to take statistics from the captives and the sound was played.

As usual, the captives lined up in rows of five in five columns behind the window of the rest house. Statistics were also taken from us inside the clinic. The soldiers left the camp and went to their headquarters. Involuntarily, a terrible silence engulfed the camp. After a short time, the Iraqis returned. We did not see anyone, because the clinic was very close to rest house no. 13. The only thing that caught our attention was the sound of the cable and baton hitting the wall, and we could hear the sighs and groans of the newly arrived captives as the sound of the lock and the door of that rest house being opened broke the deathly silence of the camp. It turned out that the Iraqis entered the rest house no. 13 for beatings as usual.

The Iraqis first separated Haj Agha from the crowd and beat the crowd. The noise, sighs and moans along with the blows of cables and batons filled the camp. No one knew what to do and nothing was done by anyone. Later, we heard that Haj Agha had said to the captives accompanying him: "If they execute 10 captives one day at the foot of the pillars of the camp, no one has the right to protest, because we are POWs."

We were following these events from inside the hospital, only through hearing. One of the newly-arrived prisoners later narrated that the soldiers, after resting for a while, dragged Haj Agha to the middle of their group and poured everything on him. Everyone was hitting him with whatever they had in their hands, with cables, ropes, whips, boots, kicks, etc. We could only hear the sound of cables and whips from outside, not a sigh or a sound!

Some time passed. I don't know maybe half an hour or an hour, but the first stage of the beating was over and the noises stopped. It didn't take long that the clinic door opened, the bed I was lying on was in front of the door. A sergeant named Massoud with a big figure appeared in the middle of the door frame. First, he took a look, everyone was sitting on their own bed. No one reacted. He called: "Where is Dr. Hossein?"

Dr. Hossein answered from the end of the clinic: "Yes, I am here!"

Sergeant Massoud said: "You have one wounded."

Then he whispered with a smile: "He stabbed himself with a razor."

We didn't know about whom he was talking. Because the injured person was between the road and behind the hospital wall! Haj Agha entered the clinic firmly with a smile on his face, but with palm-sized blood stains on the left side of his chest. No one moved. According to the previous coordination and orders, no one reacted. Dr. Hossein and his assistant Mr. Behrouz came forward, talked a little and asked: "What has happened?"

To cover up their crime, the soldiers, with some fear and anxiety, repeated Sergeant Massoud's words: "He intended to kill himself with a blade."

It was obvious from Haj Agha's appearance that he was very tired and weak, but he did not want to show his weakness in front of the enemy. No matter how hard it was, he kept himself standing and stable, as soon as the soldiers left the clinic and the door was closed, he was about to fall on the ground when Dr. Hossein and Mr. Behrouz took him under his arms and laid him on the first bed in front of the entrance door. They immediately made hot water. They unbuttoned his blouse. After washing the wound and wiping the blood from his body, they stitched his wound. Then, Mr. Behrouz gave him some milk and dates. After talking for a while, Dr. Hossein, who did not know Haj Agha, asked: "What do you know about Haj Agha?" Is he fine? Was he beaten too?"

I couldn't tolerate anymore. I started crying and went under the blanket. I only heard that Haj Agha replied: "He was beaten, now he is in your service and has caused trouble for you."

I took my head out from the blanket and saw that Dr. Hossein was silent, turned red with sweat on his forehead. He was silent for a while and this affected the clinic. No one said anything. After a while, Haj Agha broke the silence because he had not prayed. He washed his hands and face, performed ablution and prepared for evening prayer.

He stood up for the evening prayer with a pale appearance. I don't remember, it was in the middle of Surah Hamd or Surah Towhid that he couldn't continue anymore, his condition changed and had to break the prayer. He rested a little. Dr. Hossein and the people present at the clinic asked him to perform the evening prayer while sitting, but Haj Agha did not accept. He stood up to pray again. But again, he had not finished Surah Hamd when his condition deteriorated again. He could not finish his prayer and had to break it. He was falling when Dr. Hossein and several others grabbed his armpit.

For the third time, Dr. Hossein did not allow him anymore. He came into the problem from the medical status and forced Haj Agha to pray while sitting.

This time Haj Agha gave up, and prayed while sitting. He recited Surah Hamd, but he had not finished the Surah yet, when he pointed out to those around him that he felt nauseous. They immediately brought him a plastic container. Unfortunately, due to the blows of the cable on his back, he vomited everything he had eaten in the clinic. But when he rested a little, he felt better, then he performed the evening prayer standing and shedding tears.

At Dr. Hossein's insistence, Haj Agha was hospitalized for almost a week. After a week, when he went to the bathroom, a captive named Sherafati, who was responsible for washing him, said that Haj Agha's back was completely bruised from his shoulder to his waist. At that time, we realized his great soul, how he had not shown all that weakness. He neither showed himself weak in front of the Iraqis, nor did he say anything for the sake of the feelings of the captives.

Source: Shafiee Nia, Days of Captivity, Oral History of Colonel Mohammad Khosh Niat, Hamedan, The Foundation for Preservation and Dissemination of Holy Defense Values, Hamaseh Mandegar Publications, V. 1, 1398 (2019), P.222.