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American Morning

Interview with Hussain Al-Shahristani

Aired February 28, 2003 - 08:15   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Some breaking news out of the U.N.
The French foreign minister now saying that he thinks that a majority of the Security Council are opposed to the second resolution. He goes on to say the has faith that a lengthened inspection process would work. Here's a quote. "It's a very important step in the disarmament of Iraq. It confirms that the inspections give results."

Hans Blix expected to give an interim report to the Security Council, where he, as Richard Roth told us earlier this morning, will say that Iraq hasn't kept up to pace with these inspections. And more on that a little bit later on this morning.

Now we're going to focus in on a man named Hussain Al- Shahristani. He is a nuclear scientist who was tortured and imprisoned by Saddam Hussein after refusing to work on Iraq's nuclear weapons program.

In the last hour, in the first part of my conversation with him, he said that the Iraqi president is hiding weapons of mass destruction underneath the ground in tunnels and talked about this proposed chemical ban where, if he has the chance, he would bury biological weapons and in some way utilize them if American troops and their allies come into Baghdad.

Now, despite his ordeal, al-Shahristani holds no grudge against Saddam. In fact, he says he wouldn't mind seeing Saddam leave the country as a free man.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HUSSAIN Al-SHAHRISTANI, NUCLEAR SCIENTIST: When I was first arrested, I was taken to Baghdad's security quarters. There I was tortured for 22 days and nights till I was paralyzed. I would hear screams in nearby chambers. With me, they were careful not to leave any permanent marks on my body so they only hanged me from my hands and tied the back to the ceiling and used high voltage probes on me and beat me.

But to others, they were chopping off toes, fingers, using tortures to burn parts of their bodies, their private parts and would be bringing their children and their wives. The children were tortured in front of their fathers to extract confessions from them. Women were raped. All sorts of kinds of atrocities were being carried on in those torture chambers in December 1979, when I was kept there.

ZAHN: Was there a part of you that thought you were going to die or did you think you were too important to the future of the nuclear program for that to happen?

Al-SHAHRISTANI: No, at the time I was convinced that, you know, I am going to die. I did not think that I would survive the torture that was going on in those cells.

ZAHN: I guess when you look back at this, it must seem like somewhat of a miracle that you survived. But in the end, do you think Saddam Hussein allowed for you to survive? You say he treated you differently than he treated other prisoners.

Al-SHAHRISTANI: Yes, that's correct. I think they were hoping that they can break my will and I will submit to their wishes, I will go back and work for them, to develop a nuclear bomb. And that's why he ordered me to be put in solitary confinement for 10 years. And in a way, yes, he was hoping that I would submit and go back to work and that's why they have not executed me.

ZAHN: I don't know how much of the CBS News interview you got to see that Dan Rather did with Saddam Hussein. But he makes it very clear he expects there to be a war. He said he will not accept exile. He will stay there.

What are his chances of survival given the kind of attack that the coalition of the willing is talking about unleashing?

Al-SHAHRISTANI: I don't believe he's going to survive, you know? What I said, that there are shelters for him under some of his palaces that can withstand nuclear attack. But even if he manages to go to those shelters and he is not killed in the aerial bombardment stage, then as soon as Baghdad is freed, the Iraqi people will find him, wherever he is. It doesn't matter how deep he goes underground.

ZAHN: What do you want to see happen to him?

Al-SHAHRISTANI: Well, I've been asked that question before. I personally have no grudges against him. If it was up to me, I would let him free so long as he cannot carry on anymore killings. But I don't expect or I don't think the Iraqi people are going to let him free.

ZAHN: You were imprisoned for almost 12 years. You don't hold that against Saddam Hussein?

Al-SHAHRISTANI: Not really. This is part of my religious convictions, my religious upbringing. You know, for me it's god is going to judge people when they have judgment and I wouldn't care really to punish him. I cannot really decide for other people. He has killed, as I said, over a million Iraqis. There is a million Iraqi families who may have other thoughts and other ideas about him. I mean I respect their feelings. I respect their wishes. But me personally, I wouldn't be part of it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ZAHN: That was Hussain Al-Shahristani.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired February 28, 2003 - 08:15   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Some breaking news out of the U.N.
The French foreign minister now saying that he thinks that a majority of the Security Council are opposed to the second resolution. He goes on to say the has faith that a lengthened inspection process would work. Here's a quote. "It's a very important step in the disarmament of Iraq. It confirms that the inspections give results."

Hans Blix expected to give an interim report to the Security Council, where he, as Richard Roth told us earlier this morning, will say that Iraq hasn't kept up to pace with these inspections. And more on that a little bit later on this morning.

Now we're going to focus in on a man named Hussain Al- Shahristani. He is a nuclear scientist who was tortured and imprisoned by Saddam Hussein after refusing to work on Iraq's nuclear weapons program.

In the last hour, in the first part of my conversation with him, he said that the Iraqi president is hiding weapons of mass destruction underneath the ground in tunnels and talked about this proposed chemical ban where, if he has the chance, he would bury biological weapons and in some way utilize them if American troops and their allies come into Baghdad.

Now, despite his ordeal, al-Shahristani holds no grudge against Saddam. In fact, he says he wouldn't mind seeing Saddam leave the country as a free man.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HUSSAIN Al-SHAHRISTANI, NUCLEAR SCIENTIST: When I was first arrested, I was taken to Baghdad's security quarters. There I was tortured for 22 days and nights till I was paralyzed. I would hear screams in nearby chambers. With me, they were careful not to leave any permanent marks on my body so they only hanged me from my hands and tied the back to the ceiling and used high voltage probes on me and beat me.

But to others, they were chopping off toes, fingers, using tortures to burn parts of their bodies, their private parts and would be bringing their children and their wives. The children were tortured in front of their fathers to extract confessions from them. Women were raped. All sorts of kinds of atrocities were being carried on in those torture chambers in December 1979, when I was kept there.

ZAHN: Was there a part of you that thought you were going to die or did you think you were too important to the future of the nuclear program for that to happen?

Al-SHAHRISTANI: No, at the time I was convinced that, you know, I am going to die. I did not think that I would survive the torture that was going on in those cells.

ZAHN: I guess when you look back at this, it must seem like somewhat of a miracle that you survived. But in the end, do you think Saddam Hussein allowed for you to survive? You say he treated you differently than he treated other prisoners.

Al-SHAHRISTANI: Yes, that's correct. I think they were hoping that they can break my will and I will submit to their wishes, I will go back and work for them, to develop a nuclear bomb. And that's why he ordered me to be put in solitary confinement for 10 years. And in a way, yes, he was hoping that I would submit and go back to work and that's why they have not executed me.

ZAHN: I don't know how much of the CBS News interview you got to see that Dan Rather did with Saddam Hussein. But he makes it very clear he expects there to be a war. He said he will not accept exile. He will stay there.

What are his chances of survival given the kind of attack that the coalition of the willing is talking about unleashing?

Al-SHAHRISTANI: I don't believe he's going to survive, you know? What I said, that there are shelters for him under some of his palaces that can withstand nuclear attack. But even if he manages to go to those shelters and he is not killed in the aerial bombardment stage, then as soon as Baghdad is freed, the Iraqi people will find him, wherever he is. It doesn't matter how deep he goes underground.

ZAHN: What do you want to see happen to him?

Al-SHAHRISTANI: Well, I've been asked that question before. I personally have no grudges against him. If it was up to me, I would let him free so long as he cannot carry on anymore killings. But I don't expect or I don't think the Iraqi people are going to let him free.

ZAHN: You were imprisoned for almost 12 years. You don't hold that against Saddam Hussein?

Al-SHAHRISTANI: Not really. This is part of my religious convictions, my religious upbringing. You know, for me it's god is going to judge people when they have judgment and I wouldn't care really to punish him. I cannot really decide for other people. He has killed, as I said, over a million Iraqis. There is a million Iraqi families who may have other thoughts and other ideas about him. I mean I respect their feelings. I respect their wishes. But me personally, I wouldn't be part of it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ZAHN: That was Hussain Al-Shahristani.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com