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window (ta’liq), beatings on the soles of the feet (falaqa) and sleep
deprivation for prolonged periods. Various forms of collective punishment,
such as food and water deprivation, were also reportedly used against the
refugees, particularly in response to protests about living conditions and
treatment by the camp authorities.
616. In August 1991 and July 1992 groups of refugees reportedly went on hunger
strikes in Artawiyya camp demanding improvements in their living conditions
and their resettlement in a third country. Many of those involved in these
protests were later allegedly subjected to torture or ill-treatment, as in the
cases summarized in the paragraphs below.
617. Ya’rub Hassan Suri al-Khaffaji, the representative of block 11,
compound 3 in Artawiyya camp, was on 13 September 1991 arrested with four
other refugees following their participation in the first hunger strike in
August 1991. They were taken to the "Emergency Unit" under accusation of
sedition and inciting the refugees to strike. The soldiers reportedly forced
him to take off his clothes and to lie on top of the bonnet of a car, the
engine of which had been running for a period of time. The soldiers then
allegedly rolled him across the bonnet, tied him to the side of the car, and
beat him with clubs and lashes. After a doctor determined that his injuries
were too severe to be treated at the camp clinic, he was transferred to the
Hafr al-Baten military hospital and later to Riyadh military hospital. Both
his kidneys were permanently damaged. In January 1992 Ya’rub al-Khaffaji was
reportedly given financial compensation following an investigation by the
military authorities. However, no independent judicial inquiry into the case
was carried out and none of the perpetrators was known to have been brought to
justice.
618. As’ad ’Ali Hussein was arrested and taken to the "Emergency Unit" where
he was stripped down to his underpants and handcuffed. He was then allegedly
beaten with cables on his hands for about half an hour until his skin started
peeling off, hit on the back with an iron bar and kicked. Thereafter he was
tied to the back of a truck while naked and dragged along for three to five
minutes, resulting in the dislocation of his left arm.
619. Zahir Rizqi Saber was also punished as a result of his involvement in the
hunger strike of 1991. He was allegedly stripped down to his underpants and
tied to a wire fence between one and two hours, during which time he was
beaten. The soldiers then cut his hair, mixed it with sand and water and
forced him to eat it.
620. Muhammad Khudhayr Mubarak Tu’ma was accused of sedition in the aftermath
of the above-mentioned hunger strike. He was allegedly taken outside "the
Emergency Unit", stripped of his clothes, beaten severely, forced to crawl on
his stomach with his hands tied behind his back and simultaneously lashed with
cables for over two hours. As a result, he was allegedly no longer able to
move and was dragged back into a tent by the guards. He died a few hours
later.
621. Bassam Yusuf Ibrahim al-Shamiri joined the second hunger strike in
July 1992 in Artawiyya. A few days after he began the strike he fell ill and
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