Takrit camp 14
One of the detention camps of Iranian prisoners in Iraq.
Camp 14 of Takrit was in a very bad condition due to being located in a region with a dry and bad weather , and also having been deserted by the Iraqis. Besides these factors, the secret identity of the prisoners of these camps caused a double problem and the prisoners did not have any legal rights. "For some reasons, the Iraqis prevented the registration of prisoners in Takrit 14 by the Red Cross forces. Due to the unclear status of captivity, these captives were deprived of basic biological and conventional war rights.[1]
Geographical and architectural characteristics
Takrit camp 14 was made up of four blocs and there were three barracks in each bloc. In the second year, another barrack was built in bloc 3, and finally the number of barracks reached thirteen. The camp was surrounded by barbed wire with a height of 2 to 3.5 meters and a width of about 10 meters. The camp was known for holding a large number of people inside the barracks. At first, there were about 150 people living in each barrack, and after the construction of a new barrack and the transfer of captives to it, the number of people in each barrack reached approximately 140 .
The barracks faced both south and north and had dimensions of 40 meters in length, 6 meters in width and 4 meters in height. 4 windows were installed on the eastern wall of each barrack and each barrack had 3 ventilators. The floors of the barracks were made of cement and the walls were made of cement blocks. In front of each barrack, a small plot surrounded by the camp-yard was allocated to that barrack for vegetable cultivation. There was a parasol of 2 meters around the barrack. The health condition of the camp was not good either. Each two blocs had a common bathroom. "There were totally 10 WCs in Takrit camp 14. There was no building for a bath, and bathing was done in two ways:
1. A pond had been set up in the courtyard of the camp, and a branch was taken from the water supply pipe of the city, which passed through the camp area, and was brought to this pond. Captives with 30 liters of water had time to take a bath in about 10 minutes. Actually, the captives were allowed to take a bath in turns once a week.
2. A water source was placed behind each barrack, and each barrack also had a branch of city water that flowed only at night from 12:00 to 5:00 AM. By using this branch, people filled the water source and used the water for drinking, taking a bath (in the barrack at night) washing dishes and clothes, etc."[1]
History and dwellers of Takrit camp 14
Camp 14 (Takrit Camp 14) was established in 1988. The prisoners of this camp were captured by the Iraqi forces in the late spring of 1988 and mainly included the forces of the 58th Zolofaghar, 77th Khorasan, 88th Zahedan, 23rd NOHED and 40th Sarab brigades. They were captured by Iraqi forces in areas such as Somar. During the transfer from the front line, for ten days or a little more, they were given temporary accommodation in Baghuba Camp 18 (→ uniCamp) were tragically martyred, and the prisoners after several days were transferred to Takrit camp 14 . Due to the fact that the prisoners of this camp were mainly military and unified, and there were no civilians among them,, and also because the captivity was short, a smaller number of captives was moved to or from this camp during the captivity. Once, the Iraqis transferred about 150 prisoners to the Baghuba camp, and in return they transferred 70 people from Takrit, Camp 5 (→ Tikrit Camp 5) to this camp (→ Timeline of Takrit camp 14).
Camp facilities
The Takrit camp 14 was located in a large military area, and at first it did not have a fixed fence and enclosure, and it was possible for Iranian prisoners to escape from it. The buildings were hastily constructed to house the prisoners; Because of this, at the beginning of the captivity, the captives faced a difficult situation. The captives were entitled only to one meal a day and a one-hour break time in the first days, and the prisoners who were transferred to this camp did not have the right to leave the asylum during the first month of their arrival. In this camp, captives were deprived of their basic rights such as survival and registration, and given that fact, the Baathists treated the prisoners as they wished. And our comrades [Safar Ali from Borujen, Mahmoudi from Mazandaran, Rank Dari from Bushehr] were martyred due to hunger and thirst and the lack of a healthy environment . My friend Rajab Hemmati, known as Rashti, said that he himself had buried 2 of the oppressed martyrs of captivity behind the kitchen, one hundred meters away from the barrack."[2]
After a month passed, the prisoners were allowed to leave the barrack. Break-time hours were very short at first, but with the completion of security fences and the deployment of guards around the camp, conditions improved and break-time gradually increased and reached 7 hours. Also, after a month, each prisoner was given an undershirt, a pair of shorts and a blanket. Two months later, he was given a blue overall and a blanket, and at the beginning of winter, another blanket, a pullover and a winter undergarment.
Due to the lack of hygiene, dysentery and scabies were so common that Hamid Zakaria undertook the responsibility of allocating one room only to the treatment of scabies:
"There were several showers in the right corner of the scabies room. Sick captives could take a hot shower two or three times a day and rest there.[3]"
On the initiative of the prisoners and the agreement of the camp commander and the money collected by the prisoners, an oven was set up inside the camp between blocs 3 and 4 for a period of nine months. The necessary flour was also bought by the captives, so finally each captive could have one loaf of bread .(specifically Lavash) Mahmoud Maleki and Ali Bandar were prisoners working in the bakery. (Takrit 14 camp facilities)
Important events
1. One of the prisoners named Behrouz Salimi managed to cut through the barbed wire of the camp-yard and escape while he had wrapped some clothes around his hand in August 1988. The next day, an Iraqi farmer caught him somewhere in the neighboring mountains and brought him back to the camp. Behrouz Salimi was imprisoned in a room for a while and was severely tortured by the enemy. Following this incident, the harsh and brutal behavior of Iraqi guards towards Iranian prisoners increased.
2. In November 1989, one of the captives from Gonbad, who had gone out for cleaning a house, found a spool. So, what he thought was a spool, was actually part of a grenade and when he started rubbing it, in order to make a ring with it, it exploded. In this incident, his eyes and hands were severely injured and the rest of the prisoners were tortured.
3. One of the other important events in this camp was finding the main water pipe. Hassan Watan Khah known as Hassan Buri (buri means pipe) while digging sewage in the camp area, came upon the main water pipe . After that, the water was transferred to the camp through the main pipe. (→ Important events of Takrit camp 14)
End of the camp
According to the report of the International Committee of the Red Cross, at the time of the release of Iranian prisoners in 1990, 1650 Iranian prisoners were registered in this camp, and the camp was shut down following the release of the prisoners in 1990.
Bibliography
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Khaji, Ali (1391). Description of the cage. Tehran: Payam Azadegan, p. 248.
- ↑ Sanchuly Pordel, Mohsen (2018). 133 people. Sharif Sabri's memories, second chapter, Tehran: Surah Mehr, pp. 93-94.
- ↑ Bayat Tabar, Maryam (2012). Behind the hills of Mahur. Diaries of Fatah Karimi, Qom: Hoda, p.95.
To read more
Saleminejad, Abdul Reza (2009). Knowledge of liberated captives. Second volume, Tehran: Payam Azadegan.
Asghar Hasanpour