- By Noshir Mullafiroze

On August 24 and 25, I watched ABC-TV's Nightline program, where Ted Koppel interviewed Iranian American Zoroastrian, Cyrus Kar about his 55-day imprisonment by the U.S. military in Iraq, and I was impressed by some of his comments.

Cyrus Kar mentioned that he was born in Iran, came to the U.S. when 5 years old, became a U.S. citizen, served in the U.S. Navy, and was filming a documentary on Cyrus the Great, founder of the first great Persian empire and the world's first human rights charter, in Babylon area, when he was arrested along with his Iranian cameraman and the Iraqi taxi driver who admitted owning the timer devices found in the taxi.

Cyrus expressed a sense of betrayal by his government when even after he was cleared of suspicion by FBI investigators who searched his home, car, computer in Los Angeles, and gave him a Lie Detector test, he was held for 55 days without being charged of any wrongdoing, and he was denied his rights as a U.S. citizen to have an attorney, to call his family, his U.S. Senator, or the U.S. Embassy in Iraq. It was only after the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a lawsuit against U.S. government leaders on his behalf that he was released.

Cyrus commented that every such innocent prisoner (Iraqi or non-Iraqi) who is held for long durations without being charged by the U.S. military, would lead to creating several enemies of the United States from among that prisoner's family members and friends. And, Cyrus suggested that a more balanced policy to treat prisoners in a civil manner will improve the U.S. image in Iraq.

As an Iranian / Persian community especially in America we should offer needed help and support to Cyrus Kar and enable him to complete his documentary, as he suffered financial and material loss during his long imprisonment in Iraq. We, the Iranians / Persians must also be grateful to him for publicizing the name of Cyrus the Great and his Human Rights Charter on a national TV network watched by millions of Americans.

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Filmmaker Cyrus Kar Describes Ordeal of Iraq Detention

Allegations of 'Wanton Hostility' While in U.S. Custody

Aug. 24, 2005 - For Cyrus Kar, a trip this spring to the Middle East for work on a documentary quickly turned into a nightmare that he says involved inhumane treatment at the hands of U.S. officials.

Some might have questioned his decision to visit war-torn countries like Afghanistan and Iraq. But Kar, an Iranian-American documentary filmmaker and U.S. citizen, says it was part of a labor of love: to complete his documentary about the ancient Persian King Cyrus the Great.

Kar's documentary took him from Tajikistan through Afghanistan, Iran and Turkey. The final piece of the story was to be filmed in Iraq. As an American citizen and a veteran of the U.S. Navy, the 44-year-old filmmaker felt confident about his presence in Iraq and had U.S. officials' permission to film there.

But soon Kar's plan to finish his dream project turned into a terrifying ordeal.

Cargo Draws Suspicion

On May 17, Kar and his Iranian cameraman hired an Iraqi taxi driver to take them to the outskirts of Baghdad. When they were stopped at a checkpoint, Iraqi police searched the trunk and found a bag of washing machine timers, devices that can be used to set off roadside bombs.

Kar, his cameraman and the Iraqi driver were all taken to a police station 50 miles north of Baghdad.

Once at the police station, Kar revealed his American citizenship and showed the police his passport and filming permit. When he asked to speak with the U.S. Embassy, the Iraqi police said they had contacted the U.S. military.

Military officials say they notified the FBI to begin investigating Kar's case and his possible connection to the devices found in his taxi's trunk. Eventually they concluded the filmmaker and his cameraman had nothing to with the suspicious equipment and both men were released. Officials said the taxi driver was still being held as the investigation continued.

U.S. officials insist Kar was treated fairly and humanely. "This case highlights the effectiveness of our detainee review process," Brig. Gen. Don Alston, a Coalition Forces spokesman, said in a statement. "We followed well-established procedures and Mr. Kar has now been properly released."

Kar, however, describes a violent and terrifying ordeal at the hands of U.S. personnel during his nearly two-month detention.

When U.S. military personnel first took him into their custody, Kar says they treated him with indifference and a lack of concern.

"They struck right by me and just mumbled, 'So these are the guys?' and 'Go into the room and close the door.' " Kar said. "And never asked us a single question."

Kar, his cameraman and the driver were blindfolded as they were led out of the Iraqi police station.

'He Grabs My Head and Slams It ...'

As he was transferred to American custody, Kar repeated that he was an American citizen and again asked to speak to the U.S. Embassy.

"And I said, 'Listen, I'm a veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces. This is how you treat your own?' "

Once at the American detention camp, Kar was placed on the dirt floor, restrained with flexi-cuffs behind his back and left with a blanket and bottle of water. Around 1 a.m. he was led to an interrogation room and photographed.

Kar's group was shackled, blindfolded and driven to Tikrit, in northern Iraq. U.S. officials there decided to take them to the infamous Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad, where Kar and his group say they were subjected to violence and humiliation.

"At that point, the punch had been taken out of me," Kar said. "I wasn't responding and he [the interrogator] is pulling me up ... and he just got a handful of skin and he's pulling me up. Skin comes loose, shirt rips and they're leading us into a processing area which looked like a lobby.

"Once we're inside the lobby, they make us face the wall, standing this time and they tell us to put our heads up against the wall. My head was about two inches from the wall and so he grabs my head and slams it against the cinderblock."

Kar was taken to another room, but his cameraman was asked to remove his clothes while the assembled group of guards laughed at him.

Kar's Iranian cameraman remained at Abu Ghraib but, as an American citizen, Kar was not allowed to be held there.

"I understand suspicion," Kar says, "I don't understand wanton hostility. And it was wanton."

By the end of his second day of captivity, Kar was taken from Abu Ghraib to the detention camp at the Baghdad airport, Camp Cropper.

After Kar was processed at Camp Cropper, it took several days for the FBI to check out his story, and another 47 days to get a hearing with the military's Detainee Status Board. Even after he was cleared, it was still six more days before he was released.

Kar continues to share this story to bring awareness to a situation he feels is jeopardizing American lives in Iraq.

"There's a reckless arrest policy," he says, "There's a tremendous amount of humiliation that follows that arrest policy, and I strongly believe that one of the major reasons that the insurgency is growing is because when detainees are released, they come out, and they're looking for retribution. ...They're angry."

http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/International/story?id=1065736&page=1

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The Strange Case of Cyrus Kar - (Reported Prior to Mr. Kar’s Release)

By Robert Greenall - BBC News

Confirmation by the Pentagon that five US citizens have been detained in Iraq on suspicion of links to insurgents has drawn attention to the highly controversial case of Iranian-born filmmaker Cyrus Kar, said to be one of the detainees.

Mr Kar's relatives say his constitutional rights have been trampled on, and that he is being kept in detention without trial despite the fact that the FBI has, they say, already cleared him of any suspicion.

On Wednesday a lawsuit was filed against the government for his release.

Mr Kar is described as a patriotic American who believed in spreading democracy around the world.

A former Navy Seal raised in the western US, he had gone to Iraq to film part of a documentary about an enlightened ancient Persian king.

Mr Kar's relatives say they have been able to talk to him by phone several times, and that he has been becoming increasingly angry.

All their attempts to find out through government departments, legislators and the military in Iraq about what is to happen to him have failed.

Need for caution

Mr Kar, 44, has apparently been held without trial since 17 May.

- - Saddam Hussein has had more due process than Cyrus Kar - this is a detention policy that was drafted by Kafka - -. Mark Rosenbaum American Civil Liberties Union

He was arrested while travelling in a taxi carrying washing machine timers, which can be used as components in bombs.

The Pentagon has not officially confirmed Mr Kar's detention, citing a policy of non-disclosure of the names of detainees.

But spokesman Lt-Col John Skinner said the facts of the case indicated it was very serious.

"I think most people would agree that's somewhat suspicious," he told the Associated Press. "All of the facts need to be thoroughly questioned... These are life and death situations, and when it comes to issues of security you need to be extremely cautious."

Another unnamed official from the department told the Los Angeles Times Mr Kar would have to attend a hearing to determine whether he was a security threat.

But the conduct of the case has left Mr Kar's relatives confused. Weeks ago, they said, an FBI agent told them he had passed a polygraph test and was cleared of any charges.

"Mr Kar is now imprisoned by the United States military in Iraq without the slightest hint of legal authority," said Mark Rosenbaum, a spokesman for the American Civil Liberties Union, which is filing the lawsuit on his behalf.

"Saddam Hussein has had more due process than Cyrus Kar. This is a detention policy that was drafted by Kafka."

'Conservative'

Indeed, everything that is known of Mr Kar's past seems to suggest he would be the last person to support Iraq's insurgency.

He was brought to the US from Iran as a child, and became thoroughly immersed in American culture.

He served in the Navy for several years, and also studied business, marketing and computing. He worked for a decade at California's Silicon Valley.

Fellow filmmaker Philippe Diaz described him as more right-wing than many of his colleagues, saying he "believed in everything which is American."

Recently he had become interested in film-making, and decided to make a documentary about the Persian King Cyrus the Great.

His sister, Anna Kar, said he had been ashamed of being Iranian.

"Reading about Cyrus the Great, he had felt a real sense of pride in what he thought was the real Iran - this tolerant, benevolent empire," she told the New York Times. "And he started on this quest."

It was this enthusiasm and determination, which brought him to Iraq.

His final task for the film was to go to the ancient city of Babylon, which was once conquered by his regal namesake.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/middle_east/4659175.stm