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1631-HQ-1462938 and tied our hands behind our backs. In the prison they took away the blindfolds and untied our hands. The conditions in the Al-Mahawil detention camp were very abusive: We were all herded to a hall where we could hardly stand. We were not allowed to use the toilet and we used a corner of the hall for our necessities. It was very dirty, stuffy, and smelly there. From time to time three or four Special Republican Guards came in to the hall and began beating us with their rifles, sticks, or iron bars. They picked out people in groups of three or four, blindfolded them, tied up their hands again and took away from the hall. These people would never return. They also took away my cousin. was fortunate. His former military commander whom he had served under in Mosul, MAJOR HUSSEIN “ABDALLAH, was one of the Special Republican Guard officers at the Al-Mahawil military base. MAJOR HUSSEIN ABDALLAH recognized his former soldier and released him to return to his military unit. According to MAJOR HUSSEIN ABDALLAH was one of three members of an “execution committee” that decided who would die and who would live: md OY io) I know about the execution committee from the Special Republican Guards themselves. When I went out of the hall I saw a group of them at the door of the next building. They told me the execution committee behind that door decided who will be executed. The door was open and I saw a big room, a table and the members of the execution committee sitti at the table. [HRW interview wich] Witnesses to the Executions The executions carried out near the Al-Mahawil military base, at the site where the large mass grave was discovered in an open field in May, 2003, were also witnessed by local farmers in the area. The farmers were threatened with death, and remained Silent about the killings until the fall of the government of 90