Four hundred and seventeen detainees gather in a small hot room, 300 of which have proven to joining ISIS, in Fallujah with Al Saqlawiya in Anbar, Iraq on June 3, 2016. When IDPs arrive at military camps, it is difficult for the government to know who might be an ISIS sympathizer and/or someone who is trying to get behind enemy lines. Many hundreds, if not thousands, of men have been sent to detention centers until it can be verified that they are not indeed ISIS sympathizers. At the time of these photographs, this region of Iraq was at the front line between Iraqi government forces and ISIS. Thousands of civilians were forced to flee from their homes to avoid being trapped.
The interrogator talks to Mahdi Mahmoud after being tortured for an hour in house by the intelligence and reconnaissance unit from (ERD) force For the purpose of torture and interrogation. Mehdi Mahmoud was displaced from Mosul with his family to his village, Mehdi Mahmoud and his son Ahmad 16 years old were arrested upon arrival More than an hour Tortured them, later they were released. two weeks later I heard that the (ERD) intelligence center arrested Ahmad Mahdi and was killed with a group of detainees near Qabr al-Abd village in the Hammam al-Alil area south Musol.11,23,2016
An Iraqi air force helicopter strikes a target in Fallujah, Iraq on May 29, 2016. After the Iraqi and Shiite militias liberated Ramadi the battle for Fallujah to push ISIS out is now the priority. The fight incorporates the use of the US-trained Iraqi Special forces and airstrikes US-led creating an advantage. The city quickly coming to destruction, is considered a “humanitarian catastrophe” because an estimated 50,000 people remained inside the city despite the fighting.
Iraqi military operations in Mosul between 7/11/2016 to 20/12/2016 with the Iraqi ERD forces from southern Mosul in (Hammam Alalil) town and (Gogjali) town East of Mosul. The pictures show the daily life of the ERD fighters on the front lines of the battle, efforts to liberate the areas and villages outside of Mosul, people displaced from Mosul, and night raids. During this period the ERD carried out humanitarian violations including rape, torture, and killing of Iraqi civilians.
Hussein sits on his couch in his army uniform in Baghdad, Iraq on April 4, 2012. On January 22nd, 2012, an IED (Improvised Explosive Devise) detonated near an Iraqi Army base in Fallujah. Hussein Jamil Abdullah, a 28 year-old soldier from Baghdad was nearby when the explosive discharged, knocking him to the ground. Hey lay there for half an hour, his right leg in an jerry-rigged tourniquet made from a headscarf, before he was taken to hospital. Gangrene set in almost immediately and the doctors at Fallujah General Hospital had to amputate his leg. He was then moved to Adnan Military Hospital, but the care Hussein received was terrible. His bandage wasn' t changed for two days and fearing that gangrene would set in a second time his family moved him to Kerkh Hospital where they had to cover the costs themselves, as the army refused to pay. As soon as he was wounded, the Iraqi Army cut Hussein s salary in half: from $500 a month to $250, which is less than he can live on. His brother, Ali, gave up his work as a barber to take care of him, and his two other brothers, Abbas and Hassan, started taking care of the family. Before he was wounded, Hussein had bought and furnished a room in preparation for his wedding to was to his fiancée, Hind, but after the explosion, Hind 's father refused to allow them to marry, claiming that Hussein wouldn’t be able to take care of her. In the summer, a selection of photographs were published online and caught the attention of an NGO worker in Baghdad who arranged for Hussein to have a prosthetic leg fitted. Once he had his prosthetic leg, Hussein married Hind. Photo by Ali Arkady
A soldier puts his finger in the eye of Leith Abdullah Hassan in the ERD intelligence headquarters after his arrested with he is brothers Ahmed Abdullah Hassan by Iraqi Federal Police, when their arrival with their families to the Gogjali area, and handed him over to the ERD forces. They escape from the Quds area when the fighting start between Iraqi forces and ISIS there, and in the border Iraqi special forces give them permission to enter Gogjali area and confirmed that they are civilians and not ISIS. Then they were taken to the ERD intelligence headquarters and tortured by 4 soldiers until morning and they were killed with out any investigation by the officers in the same day then the two bodies took and buried them nearby Bazwaia area ,Musol in 12/15/2016
Tens of displaced families from the Hamam al-Alil area fleeing toward the outskirts of the city after heavy bombardment of Iraqi and US pilots
Raad Hindia, was arrested by an intelligence department and his mother was seen his son and she asking them not to take him. Raad Hindia he is married with two children and worked in the mosque as a cleaner. He was released two hours after his interrogation in the same day, in 11/22/2016 Raad Hindia arrested again In a night raid, He was taken to the headquarters task force, tortured 3 hours and then transferred to the intelligence center to be killed two weeks later without trial and buried close his village with a group of detainees. in Qabr al-Abd,village, Hammam al-Alil,,Musol in 11/14/2016
Young YPJ and YPG recruits participate in drills the Kurdish area of Syria. The schedule is demanding and requires discipline: new soldiers in training get about 6 hours of sleep a night and wake up at 4 a.m; their day consists of a full schedule of drills and classroom lessons. Before joining the YPJ,YPG .Saemalka, Al Hasakah, Syria. December 21 2014.
The Iraqi Federal Police arrested the two brothers (L) Ahmed Abdullah Hassan and (R) Leish Abdullah Hassan when their arrival with their families to the Gogjali area, and handed him over to the ERD forces. They escape from the Quds area when the fighting start between Iraqi forces and ISIS there, and in the border Iraqi special forces give them permission to enter Gogjali area and confirmed that they are civilians and not ISIS. Then they were taken to the ERD intelligence headquarters and tortured by 4 soldiers until morning and they were killed with out any investigation by the officers in the same day then the two bodies took and buried them nearby Bazwaia area ,Musol in 12/15/2016
Amel, 17 a Yazidi from Sinjar who was held hostage by ISIS last August is reunited with Jwan, 18. The girls escaped from ISIS captivity in Fallujah on 25 August. Both girls were raped, hit and forced to convert to Islam. Eventually the used a knife to break down the door while the ISIS emir holding them was out fighting and fled to Kurdistan with the help of local taxi drivers who took pity on them. The girls meet in a camp for displaced Yazidis near the northern city of Zakho, as ISIS still hold their towns and villages further south after they massacred and slaughtered their way through northern Iraq last summer, killing and capturing Yazidi women and girls as sex slaves. Amnesty International has said that these actions could account to war crimes.dohuk, Khanke , Iraq. February 12 2015.
Refugees gather together in Nawrooz Camp in Al Malikiya, Syria on Aug. 10, 214.
An exhausted worker falls asleep on the loading ramp of a van in Sulaimaniyah, Iraq on June 8, 2011. While central and southern Iraq are experiencing new and bloody waves of violence, the Kurdish north is in the throes of a housing boom that is demanding huge amounts of cheap unskilled labor. This demand is met by poor Kurds from remote villages as well as Arabs and Yezidis who've fled the violence in the south. The workers live in cheap hotels sleeping on the floors or roofs if there aren't enough beds. In summer, some workers sleep in the nearby parks. The work is back-breaking and the pay is minimal, but while the housing bubble inflates, there is plenty of work for those poor enough to do it. Photo by Ali Arkady
While traveling to a safer place, Yazidi refugees mourn family members lost in the fight with the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, ISIS, while they were trapped on Mount Sinjar in Faysh Khabur, Zakho, Iraq on Aug. 9, 2014.
Aamir carries his wife Ghazala on his shoulder due to her weakened state from hunger and dehydration as they cross into Kurdistan, by way of the Syrian border in Faysh Khabur, Zakho, Iraq on Aug. 9, 2014.
A father and his daughter for displaced Christians from Mosul 2014
Hussein whispers to his wife, Hind, during their wedding in Baghdad, Iraq on November 11, 2012.
Raad Hindia, was arrested by an intelligence department The captain sits on his body and investigates with him. Raad Hindia he is married with two children and worked in the mosque as a cleaner. He was released two hours after his interrogation in the same day, in 11/22/2016 Raad Hindia arrested again In a night raid, He was taken to the headquarters task force, tortured 3 hours and then transferred to the intelligence center to be killed two weeks later without trial and buried close his village with a group of detainees. in Qabr al-Abd,village, Hammam al-Alil,,Musol in 11/14/2016
Mass Grave Site in Tikrit TIKRIT, IRAQ - APRIL 10: Exhumation of mass grave site inside the presidential palace compound, which contains the housing of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein in Tikrit, Iraq on April 10, 2015. The remains are believed to be soldiers from Camp Speicher, ISIS carried out the death sentence against many of the soldiers were captured in June outside Camp Speicher, enabling up to 1,700 the body of the Iraqi fortified base near Tikrit. (Photo by Ali Arkady/VII
Iraqi military operations in Mosul between 7/11/2016 to 20/12/2016 with the Iraqi ERD forces from southern Mosul in (Hammam Alalil) town and (Gogjali) town East of Mosul. The pictures show the daily life of the ERD fighters on the front lines of the battle, efforts to liberate the areas and villages outside of Mosul, people displaced from Mosul, and night raids. During this period the ERD carried out humanitarian violations including rape, torture, and killing of Iraqi civilians.
Members from the Asaib Ahl al-Haq milita pause for a moment of rest from the fighting against ISIS insurgents in a house abandoned by its residents in Al-Siniya district west of Baiji. Al-Siniya was a bastion of ISIS militants and the urban warfare in its streets drained the the Iraqi forces and slowed their advance to fully capture the area. The men are resting and restocking on ammunition while being less than a 100 meters from the frontline with the insurgents
Iraqi military operations in Mosul between 7/11/2016 to 20/12/2016 with the Iraqi ERD forces from southern Mosul in (Hammam Alalil) town and (Gogjali) town East of Mosul. The pictures show the daily life of the ERD fighters on the front lines of the battle, efforts to liberate the areas and villages outside of Mosul, people displaced from Mosul, and night raids. During this period the ERD carried out humanitarian violations including rape, torture, and killing of Iraqi civilians.
Yazidis coming down from the mountain receive treatment and food at the first Camp under PDD protection in Derike, Al Malikiya, Syria on Dec. 14, 2014.
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Ali Arkady

Contributing Photographer

Ali Arkady (b. 1982, Iraq) is an artist, photographer, and filmmaker from Iraq. In 2017, Arkady had to flee Iraq with his family when his life was threatened after he photographed Iraqi armed forces committing war crimes. He sought refuge in Europe, where he was granted asylum and subsequently built a new life. His photographs of war crimes in Iraq were published worldwide by international media and put pressure on the Iraqi government to acknowledge the crimes committed by their soldiers. For this work, Arkady won the prestigious Bayeux Calvados-Normandy Award for War Correspondents in 2017 and the Free Press Unlimited Most Resilient Journalist Award in 2019 for his exceptional courage and persistence. Now an educator and mentor, he counsels young journalists from troubled parts of the world on staying safe while reporting stories that threaten to upend their lives as his was. 

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“You Shoot, I Print”

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On the Border Between Poland and Ukraine

April 13, 2022

Watch: Bearing Witness to War Crimes

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Bearing Witness to War Crimes: A Conversation with Ali Arkady

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