He remained detained for many days in his first place of detention where he was among many other detainees. He saw one Syrian national executed in front of him. He was tortured and beaten very violently in the head with rifle butts. He was also subjected to a simulation of his own execution.

He was then brought to Baghdad airport where throughout one week he was interrogated by American soldiers and Iraqi agents on the reasons for him being in Iraq. He was suspended by his feet several times, forced to maintain "stress positions," beaten in a quasi-constant manner, and tortures with electric shocks.

He received burns to his entire body, and American soldiers terrorized inmates with dogs that also urinated on inmates.

He was then transferred to Abu Ghraib prison where he was detained for three years without any legal proceedings. He was then presented to a person described as a judge in the presence of American soldiers and "informed" before his trial that he was to be punished severely.

After the hearing at the "trial," he was not given the assistance of a lawyer or any possibility to prepare his defence in the face of the charges. The judge simply insulted him and in August 2006 he was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment.