Mohammed Munim al-Izmerly
Encyclopedia
Prof. Dr. Mohammed Munim al-Izmerly was an Iraq
i chemistry
professor who allegedly experimented with poisons on prisoners while Saddam Hussein
was president of Iraq and died while in US custody in early February 2004, ten months after his arrest.
, a CIA adviser who led the arms-hunting Iraq Survey Group
, Izmerly is alleged to have been a key figure in training other Iraqi chemists trying to make poison gas for military use in the 1970s, the leader of the effort to produce mustard gas, and in the 1980s was chief of the chemical section of the Iraq Intelligence Service. According to the report, Izmerly's ex-colleagues told interrogators that al-Izmerly was head of human experiments and tested substances for use on assassination targets by giving poisoned food or injections to about 100 political and other prisoners. The report states that Izmerly admitted giving poison to 20 people as part of the experimental program.
An autopsy
was commissioned by Izmerly's family and carried out by Dr Faik Amin Baker, director of Baghdad hospital's forensic department, who said that Izmerly's death was caused by a sudden hit to the back of his head and that the cause of death was blunt trauma. It was uncertain exactly how he died, but someone had hit him from behind, possibly with a bar or a pistol. It was also found that US doctors had made a 20cm incision in his skull, apparently in an attempt to save his life after the initial blow.
Izmerly's daughter, Rana Izmerly, alleged to the Guardian
that her father was murdered: The evidence is clear. It suggests the Americans killed him and then tried to hide what they had done. ... You offer no proof that he did something wrong, you refuse him a lawyer and then you kill him. Why? Izmerly's family presented its autopsy findings to an Iraqi judge and reported that the judge claimed he lacked the power to investigate, stating You can't do anything to the coalition. What happened is history.
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
i chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
professor who allegedly experimented with poisons on prisoners while Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...
was president of Iraq and died while in US custody in early February 2004, ten months after his arrest.
Alleged role in weapons development
In an October 6, 2005 report by Charles A. DuelferCharles A. Duelfer
Charles A. Duelfer replaced David Kay on January 23, 2004 as the leader of the Iraq Survey Group, which was the United States' search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq...
, a CIA adviser who led the arms-hunting Iraq Survey Group
Iraq Survey Group
The Iraq Survey Group was a fact-finding mission sent by the multinational force in Iraq after the 2003 invasion of Iraq to find the alleged weapons of mass destruction alleged to be possessed by Iraq that had been the main ostensible reason for the invasion. Its final report is commonly called...
, Izmerly is alleged to have been a key figure in training other Iraqi chemists trying to make poison gas for military use in the 1970s, the leader of the effort to produce mustard gas, and in the 1980s was chief of the chemical section of the Iraq Intelligence Service. According to the report, Izmerly's ex-colleagues told interrogators that al-Izmerly was head of human experiments and tested substances for use on assassination targets by giving poisoned food or injections to about 100 political and other prisoners. The report states that Izmerly admitted giving poison to 20 people as part of the experimental program.
Circumstances of death
The US security forces initially claimed in a note on the body bag containing Izmerly's body, which was delivered to the Baghdad morgue in February 2004, at an estimated two weeks after his death, stating that the death was due to brainstem compression. Prof Izmerly's family stated that three weeks earlier, they had visited him in the US prison at Baghdad airport and that he had seemed in good health.An autopsy
Autopsy
An autopsy—also known as a post-mortem examination, necropsy , autopsia cadaverum, or obduction—is a highly specialized surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse to determine the cause and manner of death and to evaluate any disease or injury that may be present...
was commissioned by Izmerly's family and carried out by Dr Faik Amin Baker, director of Baghdad hospital's forensic department, who said that Izmerly's death was caused by a sudden hit to the back of his head and that the cause of death was blunt trauma. It was uncertain exactly how he died, but someone had hit him from behind, possibly with a bar or a pistol. It was also found that US doctors had made a 20cm incision in his skull, apparently in an attempt to save his life after the initial blow.
Izmerly's daughter, Rana Izmerly, alleged to the Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
that her father was murdered: The evidence is clear. It suggests the Americans killed him and then tried to hide what they had done. ... You offer no proof that he did something wrong, you refuse him a lawyer and then you kill him. Why? Izmerly's family presented its autopsy findings to an Iraqi judge and reported that the judge claimed he lacked the power to investigate, stating You can't do anything to the coalition. What happened is history.
External links
- 'I will always hate you people': Family's fury at mystery death, Luke Harding, May 24, 2004, The GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
- Army Reopens Probe Into Man's Death, Charles J. Hanley, March 24, 2005, Associated PressAssociated PressThe Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...