Photo By Staff Sgt. Michael Pryor | Mustafa Hassan Ali displays his release papers during a joyful reunion with his family...... read more read more
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By Sgt. Mike Pryor
2nd Brigade Combat Team
82nd Airborne. Division Public Affairs
BAGHDAD – 1st Lt. Larry Pitts squinted into the noon sun as the helicopter began its descent. Moments later, the UH-60 Blackhawk touched down on the landing zone in a cloud of dust and deposited its passenger, a slight, 30-year-old Iraqi school teacher named Mustafa Hassan Ali. Only a few hours before, Mustafa had been a prisoner at a U.S. detention facility. Now, he was a free man. A crewman helped him from the helicopter and led him over to where Pitts was waiting.
The last time Pitts had seen Mustafa, he had been placing him under arrest. Now, five months later, Pitts was going to take him home.
"Welcome back," Pitts said, putting gentle hand on the man's shoulder.
After being detained by U.S. forces and held for five months on charges he was later found innocent of, Mustafa was released and returned to his home in Baghdad's Adhamiyah District, Sept. 14. In a strange twist of fate, it was Pitts – the platoon leader who initially captured Mustafa – who became the driving force in securing his freedom.
Mustafa's detainment began in April, when paratroopers from Pitts' unit – Battery B, 2nd Battalion, 319th Airborne Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team (BCT), 82nd Airborne Division - received information from a credible source that Mustafa was involved in terrorist activity. Pitts and his platoon swept into the area and detained several suspects, including Mustafa.
Unfortunately, during security operations it is possible where arrests are made and individuals are later found to be innocent, said Baltimore native Capt. Andrew Woodward, a staff officer with the 2nd BCT.
"I thought that was the end of the story. Just another bad guy off the street," said Pitts, a Fayetteville, N.C., native.
But in the following weeks and months, as Pitts continued to patrol through the area, he kept in contact with Mustafa's family members. Each time he saw them, they pleaded with him, telling him that Mustafa was innocent.
The family's unwavering insistence that Mustafa had been wrongly accused made Pitts begin to second-guess the evidence that led to his arrest. He started to think that Mustafa might have been the victim of someone with a grudge who had planted bad information.
"Maybe people wanted to settle some scores," Pitts said.
With that in mind, Pitts began his own investigation into Mustafa's background. He found that the mild-mannered schoolteacher had a good reputation in the community.
"We asked the sheiks, the neighborhood councils, the local leaders, and no one had a single bad thing to say about him," Pitts said. In time, the lieutenant took the issue to his chain of command.
"I told my commander that we might have detained the wrong person," he said.
With his command's support, Pitts began working with Multi-National Forces-Iraq (MNF-I's) detainee operations unit and the Iraqi legal system to see what he had to do to secure Mustafa's release. The process has several checks and balances incorporated into it to minimize the potential for wrongly releasing a detainee, Woodward said.
But Pitts plowed ahead, producing all the necessary affidavits and documents, and keeping the pressure on to make sure Mustafa's release remained a priority.
Meanwhile, Pitts told Mustafa's family he was working on securing his release. Despite starts and stops, the family clung to the hope that Mustafa would be returned to them soon.
"We always had hope, the whole time," said Mustafa's mother, Lamiyah. "We knew (Pitts) was doing his best."
The day came when Mustafa's release was approved. When it was just days away, Pitts told the family the next time they saw him, he would have Mustafa with him.
In his cell, Mustafa waited. Even though he knew people were working behind the scenes to secure his release, he had doubts.
"Up until the last minute, I didn't believe," he said.
On the day of his release, Mustafa was taken out of his cell for the last time. He was flown by helicopter to Coalition Outpost War Eagle, the 2-319th's base in Adhamiyah, where Pitts was waiting for him. They rode together by humvee through the streets of his neighborhood until they came to his block.
As they got out and made the walk to Mustafa's house, neighbors stopped and stared with mouths open. Then a few came running up to shake his hand or kiss his cheek. Soon there was a huge crowd surrounding him. The paratroopers had to make a human shield around Mustafa just to push through the throng of bodies.
Then, from up ahead, someone started shrieking. It was Mustafa's mother. She had seen her son coming and ran out to meet him. They embraced, he kissed her cheek, and she fainted to the ground. In the pandemonium, Mustafa was crying, a medic was treating the mother and Pitts was trying to keep the group moving forward.
Finally they made it inside Mustafa's house. His wife and daughters came up and he smothered them with kisses. Mustafa sat down on the couch and wiped tears from his eyes, overcome with emotion.
"Thanks be to God," he said softly.
"I told you we'd bring him back, and we brought him back," Pitts told the family, triggering a fresh outbreak of crying and exclamations.
Eventually, things calmed down somewhat, and Pitts explained the circumstances that had led to Mustafa's arrest and all that had happened since. Mustafa showed no bitterness. He said he still thought U.S. and Iraqi soldiers were doing a good job protecting people against insurgents.
"I think this country is getting better by the sacrifices and hard work of these people," he said. Mustafa was especially full of praise for Pitts.
"I want to thank this man for listening to my family and for pushing to help me in my case," he said.
After a little more small talk, it was time to go. Pitts wanted to leave Mustafa alone to get reacquainted with his family. The paratroopers left the house to a chorus of "thank you's" and handshakes from the family members.
For Pitts, the happy outcome was worth the months of work.
"We made a mistake, and we had to make it right. I'm just glad it all worked out in the end, and he could get back home to his family" he said.
Even the tough paratroopers in Pitts' platoon were affected by the emotions of the day.
"It feels good. Seeing how happy the family was, all crying and everything. It feels really good" said Staff Sgt. Julian Romo, a squad leader. "We do good things every day, but this was one we'll remember for a long time."
| Date Taken: | 09.24.2007 |
| Date Posted: | 09.24.2007 08:07 |
| Story ID: | 12500 |
| Location: | BAGHDAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 484 |
| Downloads: | 469 |
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