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SALEH SNOUSSI larger share of the prison’s booty, which amounted to no less than five thousand dinars a month. During this period, his work afforded him an opportunity to create a list of a great number of the prisoners’ names, which he took from the boxes he received each month. From this work, through examining the boxes’ contents, looking for goods and supplies that showed their owners’ affluence he also learned the names of the well-heeled families.The Chief Corporal sensed that possessing this information made it possible for him to put his private plan into operation and act on the idea that had seduced him.This depended on selecting for each visit a number of names of prisoners who belonged to wellheeled families and presenting apparent requests from those prisoners to their relatives for certain goods and food stuffs, which he knew were expensive and in particular demand at that time of year, such as certain types of fresh fruit, honey, almonds, etc. The scheme appeared to be a success, encountering no obstacles worth mentioning. For each visit, he chose several prisoners and presented requests on their behalf to their relatives, most of whom were delighted to purchase the goods after Chief Corporal Sahban alGamoudi had told them about the gradual improvement of prison life now that many rules had been lifted. He chose Corporal Ma‘tuq Madi, who drove one of the prison trucks and whose presence near the storerooms would awaken no doubts in the minds of prison administrators. So, throughout the week Corporal Ma‘tuq Madi remained stationed near the storerooms, and goods were loaded straight onto the truck without being warehoused. Then he would quickly drive them to a place where they would be laundered. Thanks to Corporal Ma‘tuq Madi the Chief Corporal’s scheme prospered and furnished him with an additional monthly income over and beyond his normal cut. After a few months, Sergeant al-Hadi Ammar discovered the breach of trust. The Chief Corporal and his accomplice, Corporal Ma‘tuq Madi, were summoned to a secret meeting with Colonel alJibali and Sergeant al-Hadi Ammar. Chief Corporal Sahban alGamoudi admitted what he had done but claimed his conduct was appropriate and not out of the ordinary since it did not differ from receiving and selling goods intended for prisoners who were deceased or taking half of the items designated for prisoners who were still alive. In a dry military tone, Colonel al-Jibali scolded him: “Si- 74 BANIPAL 43 – CELEBRATING DENYS JOHNSON-DAVIES
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SALEH SNOUSSI lence! Don’t compare your scheming skullduggery with our conduct, which we were obliged to resort to in order to safeguard state secrets for the common good. Do you want us to refuse to accept these goods and thereby open the door to doubts and questions which could lead to the discovery of something that would not be for the greater good?” Chief Corporal Sahban al-Gamoudi reminded him of something he had forgotten: “I too, Sir, am a keen advocate of the welfare and safety of the Revolution, not just because I serve as a policeman but moreover because I serve as a member of a Revolutionary Committee. My conduct, which you have referred to as skullduggery, serves the greater good because it closes the door on these same doubts and questions. A request for specific types of provisions for particular prisoners at each visit assures the family that they are alive and filled with desires and appetites.” The colonel and the sergeant were dumbfounded when the Chief Corporal disclosed the true purpose of his conduct, which they had ignorantly described as scheming skullduggery, whereas in point of fact it was actually intended to defend the Revolution, the defence of which should know no bounds. Chief Corporal Sahban al-Gamoudi and Corporal Ma‘tuq Madi had not been summoned for punishment; the colonel and the sergeant realized that the Chief Corporal had simply acted according to a corollary of the policy adopted by the prison administration with the consent and blessing of the superior agencies.Therefore these agencies would not consider the Chief Corporal’s conduct to be a crime deserving punishment, since its goal and purpose were clearly defence of the Revolution.Colonel al-Jibali could not punish the two men because that would mean their transfer somewhere else and standing orders forbade the transfer to another location of any individual who had been present at or had participated in the prison massacre.The sole failing of Chief Corporal Sahban al-Gamoudi had been to initiate a private plan behind the backs of his fellow officers. Sergeant al-Hadi Ammar reproached him sternly: “I would not have believed that you would undertake a scheme like this without informing us when you know that we are responsible for everything that occurs in the prison, whether we know about it or not.” Colonel al-Jibali interjected decisively: “Since it is necessary to continue this scheme, from now on it will need to fall under the supervision of the prison BANIPAL 43 – SPRING 2012 75

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SALEH SNOUSSI

larger share of the prison’s booty, which amounted to no less than five thousand dinars a month.

During this period, his work afforded him an opportunity to create a list of a great number of the prisoners’ names, which he took from the boxes he received each month. From this work, through examining the boxes’ contents, looking for goods and supplies that showed their owners’ affluence he also learned the names of the well-heeled families.The Chief Corporal sensed that possessing this information made it possible for him to put his private plan into operation and act on the idea that had seduced him.This depended on selecting for each visit a number of names of prisoners who belonged to wellheeled families and presenting apparent requests from those prisoners to their relatives for certain goods and food stuffs, which he knew were expensive and in particular demand at that time of year, such as certain types of fresh fruit, honey, almonds, etc.

The scheme appeared to be a success, encountering no obstacles worth mentioning. For each visit, he chose several prisoners and presented requests on their behalf to their relatives, most of whom were delighted to purchase the goods after Chief Corporal Sahban alGamoudi had told them about the gradual improvement of prison life now that many rules had been lifted. He chose Corporal Ma‘tuq Madi, who drove one of the prison trucks and whose presence near the storerooms would awaken no doubts in the minds of prison administrators. So, throughout the week Corporal Ma‘tuq Madi remained stationed near the storerooms, and goods were loaded straight onto the truck without being warehoused. Then he would quickly drive them to a place where they would be laundered. Thanks to Corporal Ma‘tuq Madi the Chief Corporal’s scheme prospered and furnished him with an additional monthly income over and beyond his normal cut.

After a few months, Sergeant al-Hadi Ammar discovered the breach of trust. The Chief Corporal and his accomplice, Corporal Ma‘tuq Madi, were summoned to a secret meeting with Colonel alJibali and Sergeant al-Hadi Ammar. Chief Corporal Sahban alGamoudi admitted what he had done but claimed his conduct was appropriate and not out of the ordinary since it did not differ from receiving and selling goods intended for prisoners who were deceased or taking half of the items designated for prisoners who were still alive. In a dry military tone, Colonel al-Jibali scolded him: “Si-

74 BANIPAL 43 – CELEBRATING DENYS JOHNSON-DAVIES

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