Ramadi camp 1
One of the detention camps of Iranian prisoners in Iraq.
Introduction
Ramadi camp 1 was the first camp that was established in the early days of the war exactly in 1980 to keep Iranian prisoners . It was located in Anbar province of Iraq.
The geographical and architectural characteristics
The Ramadi camp 1 consisted of four buildings, which the Iraqis called Ghate; Each of its buildings had two floors and dimensions of about 7.5 x 100 meters. These buildings were western-eastern and the yard was in the south. On each floor, there were four sanatoriums and two small rooms. The sanatoriums were 3 x 5 x 17 meters. Each sanatorium had ten small windows, 5 of which faced the courtyard in the south and were covered with iron bars. The windows facing north and back of the sanatorium were covered with cement blocks. In each sanatorium there was only a small opening for ventilation. The small rooms of the sanatorium were used for tailoring, as barbershop, library, storage or as jail for detaining prisoners. The floor of the sanatorium was covered with tiles. Next to each Ghate, there was a building measuring 14 x 14 meters, which included bathrooms, and toilets. There was also a 15-meter room where the Iraqi soldiers were stationed and two small rooms as prisons. The buildings were made up of reinforced concrete. The bathroom had 6 to 8 showers. There were 8 toilets in the yard. At first, there was no barrier between the Ghates, but after 18 months, barbed wire and physical barriers were placed.[1]
"A barbed wire had been stretched in a spiral form around the camp. Around the camp, the guard towers and behind the towers, there were several tanks as back up. Cannons of twenty one were placed around the camp. The entire camp was built in such a way that the sanatoriums were situated in the middle of the camp." [2]
History and inhabitants of Ramady
Ramadi camp 1 was established in 1980 in Anbar province and its prisoners were people with different beliefs and opinions going back to the early days of the war. In the first days of the war, the Ramadi camp was set up with the arrival of 700 prisoners. These people were locked in the sanatorium for 10 days and were not allowed to leave. They lived only on water which they drank from old containers of cooking oil and bread. By the winter of 1980, the prisoners of this camp amounted to 1300 people, and after some time, some were transferred to Ghates(other buildings) 2 and 3. The first group of prisoners from the operations of Fath –ol-Mobin, Beit-ol-Moghaddas and Wal-Fajr were also accommodated in this camp. In July 2017, all the old prisoners were transferred to other camps in Ramadi, and with the new prisoners who entered this camp in accordance with the resolution, the number of living prisoners reached about 2400 people. With the arrival of new prisoners, a part of this camp was shut down and another part was established instead.[1]
Important events
1. The first time the Red Cross visited this camp was October 21st 1980.
2. On the anniversary of the victory of the revolution in 1981, the collective praying on 22nd of Bahman led to a conflict intensified when the captives were maltreated by the Iraqis, and then the prisoners went on a hunger strike for five days and at last the tense situation necessitated the presence of General Dawood, who was in charge of all the Iranian prisoners in Iraq. It ended up after five days.
3. At the end of the winter 1982, due to the non-cooperation of the prisoners with the journalists and the torture of the prisoners, Major Ezzeddin was beaten there was a shooting and eight of the prisoners were wounded and the Iraqis used tear gas. The prisoners set fire to blankets and sheets to protect themselves against the tear gas. Finally, the commander of the camp, Major Mahmoudi, was forced to apologize.
4. The interview of Alireza Rahimi and Mehdi Tahanian with Nasera Sharma, a journalist of Indian origin, is quite well-known in asylum Nr.18, Ghate 3. This AFP reporter , while interviewing the captives, was asked by them (her interviewees) to wear Hijab. Mehdi Tahanian was tortured several times for the interview and was flung into solitary confinement. See also Tahanian, Mahdi
5. On August 27th 1981, the group of Mojahedyn-e-khalgh hijacked the Bandar Abbas-Tehran passenger plane and, to propagandize it, took its passengers to the Ramadi Ghate 1 camp 3.
In May 1989, a group of Mojahedyn-e-Khalgh headed by Mehdi Abrisham Chi went to this camp to attract prisoners and persuade them to refuge. After this incident, 150 prisoners were transferred to camp 17 in Tikrit.
Bibliography
To read more
Afshinpour, Abdul Amir (1389). The red sands of Tikrit, Ch II. Tehran: Surah Mehr.
Fattahi Takhtagahi, Haider (1386). Mirror of captivity Tehran: Shahid.
Saleminejad, Abdul Reza (2009). Knowledge of liberated captives. Second volume Tehran: Payam Azadegan.
Natiq, Sasan (1385) Khalil (the prophet) on fire, diaries of Karim Rajabzadeh. Tehran: Surah Mehr.
Nouri, Hassan (2014). Three thousand days in captivity. Second volume Tehran: Payam Azadegan.
Davud Khodaiyee