Amputation of critics’ tongues and ears

The militia force known as the Saddam Commandos chopped off the tongue of a man who openly criticized President Saddam Hussein. Faris Ukla´s tongue was amputated in Diwaniya, the center of al-Qadissiya province in the presence of a crowd of people. Ukla is the second Iraqi citizen from the same city and the fifth in Iraq to suffer the horrendous punishment. In 2001, the dreaded commandos, who directly report to Saddam´s elder son Udai, cut the tongue of 17-year-old Zuheir Kadhem, also allegedly for blasting Saddam. (Sources: Amman, Iraq Press, 20/02/2002)
March 1, 2002: two young Iraqis had part of their tongue chopped off for publicly criticising President Saddam Hussein. Faris Kadhem and Zuheir Jabbar were the latest victims of the horrendous punishment usually carried out in the presence of a crowd of people.Eyewitnesses said the two were dragged by an armed patrol of the dreaded militia force known as Saddam Commandos to the centre of the southern city of Diwaniya. With their hands tied behind their backs, two militia members forcibly opened their mouths and another produced a sharp knife, pulled their tongues and cut them off. The witnesses said the patrol was the largest to be seen in the Jadeeda neighbourhood of Diwaniya. The commandos even demanded the crowd to celebrate the amputation by shouting slogans in support of Saddam. But some women among the crowd raised their voices in protest, prompting the militias to fire shots in the air to disperse them.This brings the number of Iraqis subjected to the horrific punishment to seven. (Sources: Amman, Iraq Press, 01/03/2002)
February 13, 2003: two Iraqi doctors living in South Yorkshire fled their homeland after being ordered by Saddam Hussein to help commit atrocities against his own people, an MP revealed. One of the doctors left after he was asked to amputate the ears of 150 soldiers who had disobeyed the Iraqi dictator´s orders, said Rotherham MP and Minister for Europe Denis MacShane. The doctor was also asked to check if the victims of a mass execution were all dead. The other - a successful orthopaedic surgeon who is now living in Rotherham with his gynaecologist wife - was asked by Saddam´s henchmen to forge death certificates. MacShane has revealed that both men are now in the process of seeking asylum in Britain. (Sources: Sheffield Star, 13/02/2003)