Takrit camp 17

This camp was launched in the early days of July 1989. "The Baathists brought about 400 camp prisoners here following a conflict between the prisoners of Ramadi Camp 6 (Ramadi Camp 1) and the Mojahedin-e-Khalgh members; Then, within ten days, religious and active prisoners from other camps in Ramadi and Mosul were also transferred to this camp. About 1,500 registered prisoners of the Red Cross were gathered in this camp for torture and exile, those captives as regarded the Iraqis, were trouble-makers or people involved in sabotage and chicanery .

Geographical and architectural characteristics

"This camp consisted of two blocs 1 and 2. Each bloc had three buildings and each building had two sanatoriums that were built in a north-south direction. This camp had no other facilities except the kitchen." At first, all the prisoners were settled in bloc 1. The presence of 200 people in each sanatorium, which was way more than its capacity, created problems for the prisoners including the fact that every night some of them passed out due to the intense heat. In the meantime, one person died of intense thirst and pressure, and this prisoner was not identified. In the first days, leisure time was about 4 hours, which gradually increased  , and on two occasions it was between 8 am till noon and 3 till 6 pm. This camp, unlike other camps, had a lot of space and the prisoners could move in all parts of the camp. Each sanatorium had ten windows, five of which opened to the area in front of the sanatorium, and the rest, which were located towards the back of the sanatorium, were blocked. The sanatoriums did not have ventilators. Only a small hatch measuring 70 x 70 cm was placed above the entrance of the sanatorium. It took  the Iraqis 2 months to decide to transfer half of the prisoners to bloc 2. These two blocs were located at a distance of one kilometer from each other. For the first two or three months, the prisoners wore the same clothes as they wore since the beginning of their captivity. After that, each person was given an undershirt and shorts. The Iraqis treated the prisoners harshly and tortured them. One of their tortures was that they buried the prisoners up to their necks in sandy soil.

Camp facilities

In the last months of the presence of prisoners in camp 17, due to the severe reduction of food, the Iraqis allowed the prisoners to use the small area in front of each sanatorium for gardening and growing vegetables; In this way, the food of the prisoners was provided by vegetables or sometimes ripe and unripe fruits of these gardens. Lack of water was also a constant problem. Because there was no drinking water or plumbing inside the camp. The water was brought by tankers from the Euphrates River , but it was not suitable for drinking. During the visits of the Red Cross Committee, the prisoners complained about this issue, and after a while, some chlorine tablets were provided to the prisoners to disinfect the water. (← Takrit camp 17 facilities)

Important events

1. The presence of animals in the camp. The Iraqis were making a strange move, they brought some chickens and roosters to the camp and put some prisoners in charge of taking care of them. The presence of the birds was delightful for the prisoners, who had seen nothing but barbed wire and the camp's grimy yard.

2. Holding a soccer match between Iraqi guards and prisoners. A ball was given to the prisoners to play football during their free time. Twice, the commander of the camp, Major General Amer, forced the prisoners to play soccer with the Iraqi guards. The matches were played in two 20-minute periods. First, the guards inside the camp competed, which ended in favor of the prisoners, and then they brought some Iraqi guards from outside the camp, and the result of the second competition was also in favor of the prisoners.

3. The plan to carry out a big mutiny in bloc 1. The prisoners, who were fed up with the status quo, decided to revolt, but the spies (→ espionage) disclosed the plan  and on the very day of the mutiny, the Iraqis put the prisoners in the sanatorium. They imprisoned the captives and brought Haj Agha Abu Torabi Fard (→ Abu Torabi Fard, Seyyed Ali Akbar) to this camp to mollify the disgruntled and dissatisfied captives.

4. The presence of Hojjat ol-Islam Abu Torabi Fard (→ Abu  Torabi Fard, Seyyed Ali Akbar) in the second bloc. With the arrival of  Abu Torabi Fard at Camp 17, the atmosphere of the camp gradually calmed down. Haj Agha talked with the camp officials so that they would beat the captives less and reduce the restrictions; To our surprise soon a pond with a depth, length and width of two meters was constructed for the prisoners. Every morning, he would line up the inmates in the camp area and they would run in groups. He was allowed to visit sanatoriums or other prisons from time to time and spend a night with the prisoners of that prison. In the last months, they brought two spies and fans of  Mojahedin-e-Khalgh  to camp 17 and placed them in sanatorium 6.

5. Martyrdom of Mahmoud Amjadian caused by a member of Mojahedin. "One of the two captives who came there from the camp of the Mojahedin was a Kurd and was seeking a political asylum. Mahmoud Amjadian argued with him that’ you are a traitor to the country’’. In the afternoon of one day in July 1990, when the whistle of break-time was blown, Mahmoud Amjadian was walking in front of the sanatorium door. The Kurd sneaked upon him from behind and plunged a big knitting-needle, which was made of barbed wire and was used to sew the hem, into Mahmud's heart  , and he fell to the ground. His friends came and took him to the hospital, he succumbed to death in less than seven or eight minutes. The prisoners dashed to catch the culprit . Meanwhile, Iraqi soldiers took the Kurd to solitary confinement. This person, who applied for asylum, did not return to Iran when the prisoners were released. (→ Important events of Takrit camp 17

End of the camp

Prisoners of Takrit camp 17 returned to Iran on August 23^rd and 24^th, 1990. Of course, in order to get concessions from Iran, the Iraqis kept nine prisoners, including Haj Agha Abu Torabi Fard (→ Abu Torabi Fard, Seyyed Ali Akbar), who, along with a number of prominent prisoners from other camps, were released about ten days later when they returned to their homeland.