"Things they Don't Do Even In Israel": Another Tale from Free Libya

May 19, 2012

The following is from the account of a man from Sirte who was released from a Misrata jail following a large bribe.  He's missing his right leg and left arm now, from battle prior to capture. It's not so much what torture he was subjected to as what he witnessed and heard from others that's shocking even to those of us aware of some of what's (at least allegedly) going on in "Free Libya."

 The information comes via a green resistance interview via PAL-talk, which I had to look up. This is the same way the famous Nisrene, "Gaddafi's girl executioner," reportedly got her story out after allegedly escaping. She requested anonymity, but shared but too many details matching a well-known story. I'm not sure of her current status and haven't heard an update. This time again the former prisoner anonymous, and the chat was audio only.

Audio chat and English transcription that's not bad at Libyan Free Press:
 http://libyanfreepress.wordpress.com/2012/05/14/shocking-interview-with-a-man-who-has-been-tortured-for-months-in-misuratas-jails-3-video/
It might be useful to listen to the audio but I haven't yet. Run-on sentence transliteration, if not delivery, is repaired here in spots.

I should congratulate the free soldiers who martyred in the battlefields and I wished if I had died 10 thousands times than passing one moment in that jail.The things that they do in the MISURATA JAIL they don’t do even in Israel. Somethings that I will tell you only few of them and as for the names they are so many so I can not remember all of them because I want to give each one’s name and what they did to him. 

A few examples to start:

...there were two other officers their names are EL ZUBAIDY and EL GHASHIKA were HANGED NUDE FROM THEIR HANDS without any clothes on them and I can not tell you what they did to them (IMMORAL THINGS) and ask about them all this in addition to rape torture and cutting hands and legs...

and there was a man I can not say his name he belonged to El Gadadfa tribe and lived in Misurata. He had a PRIVATE problem with a local family BEFORE the events took place just ask people there about him because anyone there knows about him after he was jailed members of that MISURATI FAMILY PAID the MILITIA and TOOK him to THEIR house as if they TOOK a GOAT and they SLAUGHTERED him and CUT him to pieces so look what they did to that guy who had a Shahma because anyone who knows that family they also knows their argument with this poor guy and I know very well his brothers but I do not want to mention their names so they can not get hurt because they were my jail mates.

In fact, we've seen videos of these people doing things nearly that bad. This is not even much of a leap when a previous heated dispute plus the furor of recent fighting, the dark mood, the impunity, the insanity - it's all too plausible to suggest that the Rebels made Misrata a real Hell well before the government's thwarted counter-attack even began.

On the Fighting and His Capture:

Another one whose story was so strange, which made me so overwhelmed. Its true that every Mujahid has a sympathetic story but this man has a special and emotional story, his name is MUNIR and he is from Zlitan, ask about him anyone who fought in the district number 2. All members of his family were killed in Zlitan, after that he came to Sirte and started fighting with us in the district number 2 after telling us his sad story swearing to be faithful to his family, he remained fighting with a brave heart until he got caught and executed by these filthy thugs may ALLAH bless his soul his name is Munir from Zlitan but I do not remember the rest of his name so I address to the people of Zlitan to refresh their memory if they know him he came to us after Zlitan had fallen. 

In the "Mathaba district" of Sirte, which "was destroyed and empty of people" his group of fighters found "a free girl who was struggling there SHE was a GREAT HEROINE," he thinks of the Gaddafi-related Guhus tribe. "They found her alone with her weapon in the Mathaba and tried to send her home but She insisted on staying and fighting with them at the radio station building. "I swear by Allah Subhanah that she was fighting with us with a very brave heart," he said, but she was separated from the rest and injured by a rocket attack and taken to a filed clinic, where a man who said he was related was in charge of her now, and from there who knows.  "There are some brave families who remained in some struggling districts in Sirte and did not leave at all.," the man said. "I appreciate their courage."

The ex-Prisoner: Yes concerning our convoy after they capture us they started executing us and thanks to ALLAH once again I could not believe how I survived, things were like the coin toss and I remember a brave guy whom they shot, his name was HISHAM SAAIBA from SIRTE exactly in the district number 2 and he belonged in the Warfalla tribes may ALLAH Subhanah bless his soul. 

For me I was injured about three days or four before they captured me and during the fighting while I got injured, me and another colleague whose name is ALI EL MAARRAF whom I think he was martyred and the HERO HAMZA. So our group did not let us down, we told them to leave us because we will slow them down, at least they will live but they refused and took us with them in their pick up car because there were no medics and the only clinic that was in the district was number 2 which was destroyed.

After we got defeated and captured I didn’t know anything about my injured colleague and they told me that he was martyred...

Entering Hell

Then when they took me to Misurata I thought they did that because of my injury and they would have sympathy towards me. It is true that during the events we heard of some crimes about slaughtering and killing however I swear by the GREAT ALLAH that what I saw there its more than WHAT you are hearing and more than what its happening so when I got there and started telling these things to people some of them could not believe me and they told me that I’m exaggerating!

A simple example is that guy from Tawerga his name is ALI EL ATTI I swear by ALLAH SUBHANAH that they COOKED him in a big COOKER and if you do not believe me ask the people of Tawerga about that name and they will tell you his story. 

The guys there were recommending me to tell you about the RAPING that there doing to us. YES guys they are raping us and I do not want to tell you the names of the Heroes so not to get them embarrassed and those thugs they were treating us like cattle any moment someone comes and chooses any prisoner maybe randomly and takes him to an unknown place and after that moment we wouldn’t hear any news about him.

And I remember that there is a summer resort called Jannat (means Heaven) because any prisoner who was taken there was considered doomed.

The man being cooked alive sounds familiar-Nisrene said about the same, but that was in Tripoli, IIRC, not Misrata. Is this a widespread practice? In both cases, it's one guy cooked alive and others forced to watch. The "Janat hotel" sounds familiar - a story of horror I heard in passing and never looked into. Will link and mention here when I remember or someone helps re-locate it.

As soon as they knew that a Human Rights committee or any other International Org is to visit their jails, they would come and collect those handicapped prisoners like me and put to another area and force the others to wear a new sportive pajamas and give them new blankets so that everything could appear like a five star hotel prison to those committee or org. 

They were threatening us [against telling] the truth so we felt that we were not anymore men in fact what really was getting on my nerves is that bunch of thugs who were torturing us are not real men but what were we going to do? We were not afraid but we really HUMILIATED by these thugs we were not afraid of them but they exhausted us. 

And for me they did something that made me think that I would never leave but SUBHAN ALLAH life are in the hands of ALLAH SUBHANAH because my colleagues who were not handicapped were martyred whereas and thanks to ALLAH SUBHANAH I remained alive but only in name.

 Maadani: Could you please tell us the story of that poor HERO called MUAMMAR who was caught in Misurata. 

 The ex-Prisoner: Yes, this is the man I did not want to mention his name but….. anyway there is a person called Muammar whose jailed in Al Wahda (the Union) high school because OF HIS NAME, THEY CUT OFF SOME OF HIS ORGANS that I could mention  ... he is actually a prisoner in Al Wahda high school and since his name is MUAMMER he is getting the extra special Best Treatment(Misurata RACIST BRIGADE) can offer. With all my respect and dignity to you the man can not go to the bathroom by himself, only his healthy mates who carry him to and from his name is Muammer, I pray to ALLAH Subhanah to look after him, also in prison with him is his brother.

 Finally I do not want to speak longer, I want you to bear in your mind before the Resistance or any other thing the problems and the sufferings of our heroes in these monstrous jails and because there are some things that are beyond anyone’s imagination as Dr. Hamza said I will give the details and names through private chatting INSHALLAH.

Released from Hell

 Besides anyone no matter who he is: a drug addict, an alcoholic, a rapist, a thieve, a criminal, whatever his crime is after PAYING A BIG CHUNK OF MONEY HE WILL BE SET FREE!!!! 

Maadani: How much did you pay our Hero? 

The ex-Prisoner: In fact some people from Sirte put up the money may ALLAH Subhanah protect them they are you guys who paid 120 thousand Dinars and set me free. Truly speaking I could not believe it when they told me that I would leave because my Friends paid for me! 

His poem on the heroes of Sirte, particularly the revered and dedicated defense minister Jabr, are included at the post about him. (or will be soon)

The Truth?

 Again, I can't confirm his stories, something he wasn't able to make tapes of, only memories, and even those rescued along with his battered body, at a high price. The back-story and how he presents it all sound credible to me from the things I know. 

You don't exaggerate into existence an action like people being cooked. He's either telling something pretty damn close to the truth, or lying. A skeptic and denier of anything anti-Rebel, and there are many of those, might argue the latter. Maybe this is all fabricated, some desparate pro-Gaddafi propaganda to guilt-trip the world community into turning back the "progress" of the revolution. 

But the relevant elites will never play that game, even if it isn't a game. Green resistance should save it's breath for waterboarding if they're making things up. No one under the control structure is able to help them at all. A few do-gooders at the orgs who might care enough, kept well at arm-length by overwhelming militia force. In the space created, a medieval purge of body and mind is unfolding, as the West tacitly allows the rapid corrective surgery it knew would be required. The idea was always, with a few sanctions, some light bombing, etc., to bring reality in line with the fantasy of an "Arab Spring" groundswell there, to help "the Libyan people" realize their universal desire for change. It's those who chose to defy that tightly-scripted narrative that have been the problem, of whatever size, and the problem would have to be erased sooner or later.

And we just heard from an ostensible direct witness to that erasure. And through him, we might have the true flavor of this second and longer phase of "the people's" movement for "liberation."