USA: ATLANTA: IRAQI DEFECTOR FEARS FOR FAMILY'S SAFETY IN IRAQ

(1 Aug 1996) Arabic/Eng
The Iraqi athlete who defected to the United States during the Olympic games says he fears for his family's safety in Iraq.
Weightlifter Raed Ahmed, who asked for political asylum after giving his Iraqi guards the slip, told a press conference of daily terror in Iraq, including random executions of civilians.
Following his daring defection Thursday Raed Ahmed went in front of the cameras to speak publicly about the oppression and terror in Iraq.
He said his whole purpose in qualifying for the Olympics was to win his freedom in the U-S.
But he left his wife behind and said he's very worried for his family.
SOUNDBITE: (Arabic - English translation)
"I don't have much knowledge about them and I'm very much worried about them, specifically my brothers."
SUPER CAPTION: Raed Ahmed, Iraqi Defector
Ahmed fled the Olympic Village this morning when his Iraqi handlers were talking.
He said he did it to expose the oppression of the Iraqi regime.
SOUNDBITE: (Arabic - English translation)
"It is a political statement, it's against the oppression the Iraqi people are facing in Iraq, specifically by Saddam himself and his brothers and his family and his gangs."
SUPER CAPTION: Raed Ahmed, Iraqi Defector
Ahmed said the Iraqi athletes were warned not to speak about the situation in Iraq.
SOUNDBITE: (Arabic - English translation)
"They were threatened and they were asked not to talk about the sanctions, not to talk about the oppression in Iraq and any matter related to inside affairs of Iraq."
SUPER CAPTION: Raed Ahmed, Iraqi Defector
Ahmed is from Basra, the scene of a 1991 uprising by Shiite rebels against Saddam Hussein.
He said he saw Saddam's cousin, an Iraqi general, pick young people off the streets and kill them to terrorise the Shia community.
SOUNDBITE: (Arabic - English translation)
"I witnessed many crimes in Basra during the Intifada, the uprising. I witnessed Ali Hassan Majid driving through Basra in his car, picking up young people, executing them randomly, just because they are Shia, because they consider the Shia the troublemakers in Iraq and they are the people who started the uprising."
SUPER CAPTION: Raed Ahmed, Iraqi Defector
The weightlifter is now holed up in an Atlanta hotel with members of an Iraqi dissident group who have been helping him make contact with U-S immigration officials.

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