Baghdad car bomber stars in reality show

TV program features terrorists facing victims at the scene of their crimes

Haider Ali Motar was convicted of terrorism charges a month ago for helping to carry out a string of Baghdad car bombings on behalf of the Islamic State extremist group. Now, the 21-year old is a reluctant cast member in a popular reality TV show.

In the Grip of the Law brings convicted terrorists face-to-face with victims in surreal encounters and celebrates the country's beleaguered security forces. The show, produced by state-run Iraqiyya TV, is among dozens of programs, cartoons and musical public service announcements aimed at shoring up support for the troops after their humiliating defeat last summer at the hands of IS, which now controls about a third of the country.

On a chilly, overcast day last week, the crew arrived at the scene of one of the attacks for which Motar was convicted, with a heavily armed escort in eight military pickup trucks and Humvees.

After being pulled from an armored vehicle, a shackled Motar found himself face-to-face with the seething relatives of the victims of the attack. "Give him to me - I'll tear him to pieces," one of the relatives roared from behind a barbed wire barrier.

Once the cameras were rolling, the show's host Ahmed Hassan quizzed the still-shackled prisoner. When Motar was confronted by one of the victims, a young man in a wheelchair who lost his father in one of the attacks, the convict began weeping.

Iraq has seen near-daily car bombs and other attacks for more than a decade, but the central message of the show is that the security forces will bring perpetrators to justice.

"We wanted to produce a program that offers clear and conclusive evidence, with the complete story, presented and shown to Iraqi audiences," said Hassan. "Through surveillance videos, we show how the accused parked the car, how he blew it up, how he carried out an assassination.

"We show our audiences the pictures, along with hard evidence, to leave no doubts that this person is a criminal and paying for his crimes."

All of the alleged terrorists are shown confessing to their crimes in one-on-one interviews. Hassan said the episodes are only filmed after the men have confessed to a judge, insisting it is "impossible" that any of them are innocent.

Human rights groups have long expressed concern over the airing of confessions by prisoners, many of whom have been held incommunicado in secret facilities.

In September, Amnesty cited long-standing concerns about the Iraqi justice system, "where many accused of terrorism have been convicted and sentenced to long prison terms and even to death on the basis of 'confessions' extracted under torture".

Such concerns are rarely, if ever, aired on Iraqi TV, where wall-to-wall programming exalts the security forces.

Iraqi forces backed by Shiite and Kurdish militias, as well as US-led coalition airstrikes, have clawed back some territory. However, around a third of the country - including its second largest city, Mosul - remains under the firm control of militants, and nearly every day brings new bombings in and around the capital.

Back at the makeshift barricade set up for In the Grip of the Law, security officials insist they are sending a message of deterrence.

"Many of these terrorists feel a lot of remorse when they see the victims," said the senior intelligence officer overseeing the shoot, who declined to be named. "When people see that, it makes them think twice about crossing the law."

(China Daily 12/23/2014 page10)