Sherzad Kamal Khalid is a 34-year-old Iraqi citizen who was detained by the United States military for approximately two months from July 2003 through September 2003. Khalid was held at various locations in Iraq where he was subjected to frequent and severe beatings, sexual abuse and other cruel treatment.

Military personnel regularly and intentionally inflicted physical abuse on Khalid during his detention. Soldiers would severely beat Khalid before each interrogation, leaving his body covered with deep bruises. They also kicked and punched Khalid repeatedly over a period of hours while he was hooded and shackled and seated on the ground, terrorizing and injuring him with random and unanticipated blows. On one occasion, Khalid was forced to run a gauntlet of 10 to 20 uniformed U.S. soldiers who beat him with batons.

Like many other detainees, Khalid was sexually assaulted and humiliated. During a severe beating, soldiers punched him in the mouth, breaking one of his teeth, and grabbed his buttocks while brandishing a long wooden pole and threatening to sodomize him on the spot and on every night of his detention. Soldiers also simulated anal rape by grabbing his buttocks and pressing a water bottle against the seat of his pants.

Throughout his detention, interrogators threatened to kill Khalid and subjected him to mock executions in order to coerce confessions. Soldiers would demand a false confession while holding a gun to his head, and placed him before a mock firing squad with simulated gunfire.

Khalid was also routinely deprived of sleep, food and water. At times, guards gave Khalid spoiled food, causing him to vomit. He was also kept shackled for extended periods and denied access to a toilet, which would cause him to soil his pants. On one occasion, Khalid was shackled to a fence with his hands behind his back and was forced to stand in that position for several hours at temperatures exceeding 120 degrees Fahrenheit, without any water or food. At another point of his detention, Khalid was forced to stay in a so-called “silent tent” for several days, during which time he was severely beaten whenever he started to fall asleep.

After his release from custody, Khalid accompanied fellow detainee Thahe Mohammed Sabbar back to Abu Ghraib. Sabbar sought the return of property confiscated from him by U.S. forces and also wished to inquire about a colleague who remained in custody. Both Khalid and Sabbar were detained in a locked room by military personnel and were then released without receiving any response to their inquiries. As a result, Khalid now fears that U.S. forces will detain him again if he pursues remedies for the injuries and losses he incurred at the hands of American military officials in Iraq.