The Story of the Kurdish Woman Whose Perseverance Led to ‘Ajaj’s Arrest

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) — In a profound demonstration of resilience and the unyielding pursuit of justice, a Kurdish woman who survived the horrors of the Anfal campaign has, after 37 years, successfully located one of her chief tormentors from the notorious Nugra Salman prison and delivered him into the hands of the law.

The survivor, Fazila Hama-Khula, endured unimaginable suffering at the hands of Ajaj Ahmed Hardan, known to victims as 'Ajaj of Nugra Salman,' but her relentless search has ensured a key perpetrator of the Ba'ath regime's genocidal campaign will finally face a legal reckoning for his crimes.

Fazila's harrowing journey for accountability brings a deeply personal dimension to the recent capture of one of the Anfal campaign's most wanted criminals.

She spent eight months and 17 days of her life inside the terrifying Nugra Salman prison, where she witnessed firsthand the brutality of Hardan, who served as one of the prison's security personnel.

Recounting the horrific scenes seared into her memory, she described the tragic death of her young brother.

"My six-year-old brother died before my eyes from starvation, beatings, and illness," Fazila stated tearfully. "When they took him to be buried, there was nothing to use as a shroud, so they covered him with my father's keffiyeh. The next morning, when we were taken out for cleaning, I saw with my own eyes dogs eating my brother's body."

The tragedies inflicted upon her family did not end there. She vividly recalled the moment her infant sister was killed by the same man.

"Ajaj struck my sister with a hose while she was in my mother's arms; she died right there," Fazila said, adding, "Not a day went by that one of us was not tortured at the hands of Ajaj."

Despite the immense pain and suffering, she never lost hope of holding the perpetrators accountable and decided to seek vengeance for the victims through legal means.

For years, she searched for any information, and in 2016, a crucial lead emerged when she was informed by an individual that "Ajaj" was still alive. This set in motion a secret and perilous mission for Fazila and her husband, who traveled to the "Rumaythah" area several times to secretly monitor the criminal's house. 

After confirming his identity, they filed a formal legal complaint against him.

Following his arrest, Fazila was given the opportunity to confront her tormentor for four minutes. "I told him, 'I am Fazila, the daughter of Abu Mustafa.' He recognized me immediately," she recounted. "He confessed to all his crimes; from killing my sister to torturing me, my father, and my relatives."

The official announcement of the capture of Ajaj Ahmed Hardan al-Tikriti came from Iraq's National Security Service (INSS) on August 1 of this year.

According to the INSS, his arrest in Saladin Governorate was the result of a meticulous, six-month intelligence investigation that brought an end to a decades-long manhunt. The agency confirmed that Hardan had served as a security officer at Nugra Salman prison during the 1988 Anfal campaign, a large and well-planned military operation by the Ba'ath regime that was carried out in eight stages.

The INSS stated that the captured individual "committed numerous crimes against humanity and participated in the live burial and execution of Kurdish citizens," specifying his actions included "torture, murder, and burying citizens alive," as well as the sexual assault of female detainees.

For years, Hardan had evaded justice by reportedly faking his own death, with his family having "long claimed that he was dead." However, the agency said persistent "intelligence efforts, information analysis, and cross-reference with previous confessions" ultimately led security forces to his location.

For Fazila, however, the task is not yet finished. She revealed that finding Ajaj is not the end of her story, as she is now searching for another perpetrator from Nugra Salman who abducted a Kurdish girl from the prison.

The girl's fate remains unknown to this day. She expressed hope that the arrest of this new perpetrator could reveal more information about the missing girl and other unsolved crimes from the Anfal genocide.

The story of Fazila Hama-Khula stands as the story of the will of a Kurdish woman who, after 37 years, has not only kept the memory of the victims alive but has also taken practical and courageous steps to achieve justice, becoming a supreme example of perseverance in the face of historical atrocity.