1991 - Feisal Al-SanaŽa

There were 605 persons not accounted for after the Gulf war 1990/91, prisoners of war (POWs) or missing persons in detention in Iraq. In at least 85% of the cases there are documented witnesses that they have been in Iraqi detention at some time. The Iraqi Saddam Husseein regime never provided information on their fate or whereabouts and condition. Most of them, 540, are Kuwaitis and most of them, 389, are civilians.

One of the more prominent of the detained persons is Feisal al-Sana'a , Secretary General of Kuwait Association of Social Workers, for whom IFSW and our Human Rights Commission has been making representations since 1992. During the intervening years we have received various pieces of information from family and other witnesses.

Kuwait was invaded on August 2, 1990. All members of the royal family who ruled Kuwait had left the country. The following day, August 3, Feisal was brought to the high command of the invaders and asked (or offered) to form a government in opposition to the royal Al-Sabah family under protection from the Iraqi occupation forces. Feisal al-Sane asked for two weeks time to consider the offer. With this response he sealed his fate. The Iraqis knew that Feisal with that was refusing the offer.

On September 18 Feisal was summoned to go to Baghdad. He refused and three days later the 21st when Feisal was working in the garden in the evening, a large group of Iraqi soldiers arrived at the house and apprehended him. His wife and everyone in the house were seized, his small children were woken up at gun point by the soldiers. The house was occupied for ten days by a very large, but concealed group and every person arriving at the house to see Feisal or his family was arrested. One of them was Feisal's brother in law, Nasser Al-Sane who came to look for his son who had stayed overnight with his cousin Ziad. The Iraqi plans to trap, spy on and arrest Feisal were documented and found after the liberation in which it was also made clear that the plans are to "take action" against Feisal al-Sana'a . This has by some people been interpreted as an order of execution.

After the American led invation of Iraq and subsequent break down of the Iraqi regime under Saddam Hussein, there has been no news - to our knowledge - about the fate of Feisal al-Sana'a and the other 604 prisoners of war not accounted for and disappeared from Kuwait during the Gulf war in 1990/91.

IFSW will update with further information as soon as it reaches the Secretariat.