One man, with a long white beard and wearing a traditional white robe, said that he had fled to Mosul from the western city of Tall Afar. In Mosul, he said, he had been arrested on the street because he belongs to the Sabawi tribe, which many consider a supporter of violence against the Americans and the Iraqi government. The man claimed that many people had been locked up for no good reason.
There were at least 150 people inside his pen of metal and cinder blocks. In another cell, 70 detainees were packed inside. Their area was surrounded by razor wire. Hashimi urged this group of prisoners to lend a hand in ending Iraq’s violence by telling people to respect the law once they were released. "Enough with violence and death, let us build back our country and work for a better future," Hashimi said. Some of the prisoners who talked to Hashimi agreed with him.
They said they wanted nothing more, but claimed that they had been wrongly detained and that they were innocent. The men ranged in age from their teens to their 70s. Hashimi explained to the detainees that some mistakes had been made but that the government was doing its best to treat them well. "If a sniper shoots at the army and they [the security forces] do their utmost to catch the one who is responsible for it, naturally they will end up detaining some people in a wrongful manner. But you should also cooperate with your brothers the security forces in order to ensure that such incidents do not occur," Hashimi said.
The vice president expressed confidence that the security forces would move through their cases and release those who were innocent. "I have just come from overseeing the work of these units at the Nineveh Operations Center and believe me when I tell you that, with their very exceptional work, it is only a matter of time before you are found innocent and released from here" Hashimi said. His visit sparked a near-riot among those detainees who did not get to talk to the vice president.
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