Episode 121 - Comrade Hermis Yousif was born in Nineweh (Mosul) Iraq, on March 6, 1956. From an early age, he yearned for an opportunity to contribute to the betterment of his nation and was influenced by his Father’s love for nationalism, poetry and the Assyrian language.
Late in the evening on July 19, 1984, Hermis was arrested by the Iraqi Security Service for his work with Zaw’aa. Hermis and seventeen other members of Zaw’aa were eventually taken to Baghdad to be interrogated and jailed. According to Dr. Sargon Donabed’s Ph.D. Thesis, “...for the first seven days, the individuals were placed in tiny cells of dimensions less than 4x4x4 ft. While food was offered twice daily, the various forms of torture included beatings with wooden rods, having wrists tied at the back and being hung by the same rope while beatings occurred, and, electric shock to the genitals and other areas. Following the initial seven-day period, the detained individuals were placed together in Baghdad for six months in a cell that only allowed space for nine to sleep at one time.”
The eighteen were eventually tried in court. After a one-day show trial, the verdict for the comrades was life in jail, and execution for the three commanders; Sahdeh Youbert, Yousip and Youkhana were executed on February 3, 1985. “The Iraqi government itself confirmed these executions and accused the three of ‘having committed the crime of creating a hostile and separatist movement aimed at threatening the independence and unity of Iraq…”
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