Hanna

I. Background

Hanna is a native and citizen of Iraq. He was born in Bagh- dad and is a Chaldean Catholic. Hanna fled Iraq on September 27, 1997 on account of three incidents described below.

In January 1992, Ba’ath party officials arrested and detained Hanna for over a month. Hanna’s captors tortured him while he was jailed. Hanna was accused of being anti- government and of belonging to the Assyrian Democratic Party, in part because he was taking extra math classes from a Christian teacher. Government officials also accused Hanna of making and distributing anti-government fliers with his math teacher.

In March 1994, local police falsely accused Hanna of sell- ing “expired” goods, laundering money, and using counterfeit money. He was jailed for fifteen days. Hanna stated that guards beat him and blindfolded him during his detention.

In 1997, members of the Student Affairs Bureau and Party Organization Committee at Hanna’s school tried to force Hanna to join the Fedayeen Saddam, a paramilitary organiza- tion loyal to Saddam Hussein. Hanna testified that the group told him if he did not join the Fedayeen Saddam he would be accused of sabotaging the government and he would not…