08 March 2010

Iraq-USA: Abdenasser Hassan, tortured by U.S. forces in Iraq

Abdenasser Hassan, a Palestinian from Lebanon, was arrested in Iraq by U.S. military forces in 2003 and eventually released in August 2009 without ever having been tried. He was severely tortured throughout his detention. On 8 March 2010, Alkarama submitted his case to the Special Rapporteur on Torture, requesting his intervention with the U.S. and Iraq. Alkarama has asked for an independent investigation to be initiated into the violations against Mr Hassan.

Abdenasser Ahmed Hassan (عبد الناصر أحمد حسن), was born in 1968 and is a Palestinian merchant living in Lebanon. He was arrested on 1 August 2003 in Karah, Iraq by U.S. section #101 of the coalition forces, and led directly to a detention camp on the U.S. military base near Baghdad International Airport and then transferred three days later to Abu Ghraib prison.

During his detention at Abu Ghraib, Abdenasser Hassan was repeatedly tortured by the U.S. forces, and then released on 25 January 2004 when they admitted that he had been "accidentally arrested".

He was once again arrested on 18 February 2005 by U.S. forces in Iraq and detained in Badush prison, Mosul. Throughout his detention he never underwent any legal proceedings. He then was transferred between Kal'et Souah prison, northern Iraq and Arrassafi prison before being released on 6 August 2009. Two weeks later, on 22 August 2009, Abdenasser Hassan managed to return to Lebanon with the help of the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

Not only during his detention in Abu Ghraib, but elsewhere, Abdenasser Hassan was subject to severe torture by U.S. forces, as well as other inhuman and degrading treatment. He is reported to have been beaten in front of other prisoners and to have electrocuted on several occasions. He was in fact systematically tortured with pepper spray; hooded and deprived of sleep of long periods; exposed to sunlight until his collapse; and held in a freezing cold cell. His torturers are code named "Coungar 5" and "Cougar 6".

Due to the torture inflicted upon him during his detention, Abdenasser Hassan not only suffers from post-dramatic stress disorder, but also has constant and excruciating physical pains caused by a fracture to his right shoulder and the loss of many of his teeth due to blows to the face; and as a consequence of long periods in handcuff, he now suffers from an acute pain to his right wrist, where his veins were cut by the cuffs.

The Committee against Torture has considered similar acts committed by the U.S. forces in Iraq and has criticized the United States for its involvement in "acts of torture or cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment committed by certain members of the State party's military or civilian personnel in Afghanistan and Iraq." CAT/C/USA/CO/2, 25 July 2006 para. 26.

The Committee also refers to the Abu Ghraib prison, asking the U.S. government to "comment on the information that the official investigations conducted into allegations of torture and ill-treatment in Afghanistan and Iraq, and especially in the Abu Ghraib prison, were not fully independent." CAT/C/USA/Q/2, February 8, 2006, para. 33.

Iraq - HR Instruments

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)

ICCPR: Ratified on 25.01.1971
Optional Protocol: No

Last State report: 11.10.2013
Last concluding observations: 19.11.1997

Convention against Torture (CAT)

CAT: Accessed on 07.07.2011
Optional Protocol: No
Art. 20 (Confidential inquiry): Yes
Art. 22 (Individual communications): No

Last State report: 30.06.2014
Last concluding observations: 17.09.2015

International Convention for the Protection of all Persons from Enforced Disappearance (CED)

CED: Accessed on 23.11.2010
Art. 33 (Inquiry procedure): Yes

Last State report: 26.06.2014
Last concluding observations: 18.09.2015

Universal Periodic Review (UPR)

Last review: 11.2014 (2nd cycle)

National Human Rights Institution (NHRI)

Independent High Commission for Human Rights (IHCHR) – Status B