Home > Family of Victim of US Torture Faces Enormous Hardship
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On July 21, 2003 Sadiq Zoman, 57, was detained by US soldiers when they raided the Zoman family home in search of weapons and, apparently, to arrest Zoman himself. While in U.S. military custody, he was beaten, tortured with electric shock, whipped, one of his hands was broken, his head was bludgeoned. More than a month later, on August 23, US soldiers dropped Zoman off, already comatose, at a hospital in Tikrit. Although he was unable to recount his story, his body bore telltale signs of torture: what appear to be point burns on his skin, bludgeon marks on the back of his head, a badly broken thumb, electrical burns on the soles of his feet.
Additionally, family members say they found whip marks across his back and more electrical burns on his genitalia.
Zoman’s family said he was in perfect health before US soldiers took him away. They further insist no firearms, bombs, or other incriminating evidence was ever found by the search that accompanied Zoman’s capture by US troops. They said that when US soldiers entered their home to detain Zoman the front door was smashed in, furniture broken and torn apart, and money, gold and jewelry looted by the troops.
The Army has so far offered no explanation of why the Zoman home was raided or the reason for Zoman’s capture.
Sadiq Zoman remains completely unresponsive. His family cares for him in a stark home nearly devoid of furnishings, situated in the Al-Dora neighborhood of Baghdad. The family moved there from Kirkuk last fall in order to facilitate better care and conditions for Zoman. The family has sold nearly everything that remained after the Army raid to purchase food and medical supplies. Entire rooms in their new Baghdad home are completely empty since nearly all their furnishings have been sold off.
None of the Zoman daughters has work, owing to the skyrocketed post-war unemployment situation. Sadiq Zoman himself has no pension, since he was a government employee. Daughter Rheem said, "You see our situation. We often don’t have electricity, only six hours per day, so we take turns fanning him to keep him cool."
The family of Sadiq Zoman says they have received no explanation, nor any compensation for his situation from either the US military or the US-run Coalition Provisional Authority.