Theo Padnos

I told him I had been in Yemen studying Arabic and studying Islam. He's like, spy, spy, spy. And it took, you know, my testimony was like five minutes. And then he called the soldier. He goes, put him in the basement. They brought me down into a toilet in the basement. And they locked the door. It was like about the size of this chair. You couldn't lie down in it.

There was poop all over the place. And I poked my head out of the little food hatch. And there was a guy in a cell next to me. And I go, man, what did you do? Like, what's your crime? He goes, we're Shia. We're Shia. So I'm like, jeez, this seems like a religious sort of organization. And within the next minutes, I was in the hands of Mohammed Adnani, who was the author of the Bataclan attacks.

There was poop all over the place. And I poked my head out of the little food hatch. And there was a guy in a cell next to me. And I go, man, what did you do? Like, what's your crime? He goes, we're Shia. We're Shia. So I'm like, jeez, this seems like a religious sort of organization. And within the next minutes, I was in the hands of Mohammed Adnani, who was the author of the Bataclan attacks.

There was poop all over the place. And I poked my head out of the little food hatch. And there was a guy in a cell next to me. And I go, man, what did you do? Like, what's your crime? He goes, we're Shia. We're Shia. So I'm like, jeez, this seems like a religious sort of organization. And within the next minutes, I was in the hands of Mohammed Adnani, who was the author of the Bataclan attacks.

In Paris, and the guy who burned to death the Jordanian pilot was, Qasasbi. His headquarters were in a nearby town there. And he took me to really kind of the cradle, the birth of the Islamic State, a little farmhouse. There was a bunch of Iraqi guys, a bunch of French guys there. And for me, that's when the real torture began, like the—

In Paris, and the guy who burned to death the Jordanian pilot was, Qasasbi. His headquarters were in a nearby town there. And he took me to really kind of the cradle, the birth of the Islamic State, a little farmhouse. There was a bunch of Iraqi guys, a bunch of French guys there. And for me, that's when the real torture began, like the—

In Paris, and the guy who burned to death the Jordanian pilot was, Qasasbi. His headquarters were in a nearby town there. And he took me to really kind of the cradle, the birth of the Islamic State, a little farmhouse. There was a bunch of Iraqi guys, a bunch of French guys there. And for me, that's when the real torture began, like the—

The torture today was not, it was not Nizami as this, not systematic. But once you get in the hands of the actual Al-Qaeda men, they know how to do it properly. At first, I was so ashamed of what they had done to me. I was like, I can never tell anybody this. I tried to hang myself. This is another thing I was very ashamed of. They put me in such a psychological condition.

The torture today was not, it was not Nizami as this, not systematic. But once you get in the hands of the actual Al-Qaeda men, they know how to do it properly. At first, I was so ashamed of what they had done to me. I was like, I can never tell anybody this. I tried to hang myself. This is another thing I was very ashamed of. They put me in such a psychological condition.

The torture today was not, it was not Nizami as this, not systematic. But once you get in the hands of the actual Al-Qaeda men, they know how to do it properly. At first, I was so ashamed of what they had done to me. I was like, I can never tell anybody this. I tried to hang myself. This is another thing I was very ashamed of. They put me in such a psychological condition.

You tried to hang yourself in captivity. Yeah, I was like, I don't want to do this, but I have to. And after that, I was ashamed about this. It's like part of what happens in these prisons, and I'm sure it happens in the government prisons too, is they degrade you to the status of an animal. You are dirt, you are filth, you are life that doesn't deserve to live.

You tried to hang yourself in captivity. Yeah, I was like, I don't want to do this, but I have to. And after that, I was ashamed about this. It's like part of what happens in these prisons, and I'm sure it happens in the government prisons too, is they degrade you to the status of an animal. You are dirt, you are filth, you are life that doesn't deserve to live.

You tried to hang yourself in captivity. Yeah, I was like, I don't want to do this, but I have to. And after that, I was ashamed about this. It's like part of what happens in these prisons, and I'm sure it happens in the government prisons too, is they degrade you to the status of an animal. You are dirt, you are filth, you are life that doesn't deserve to live.

The torture, it's like if you knew that it was going to be 10 minutes, 20 minutes, and that you're going to come out alive, you'd be like, okay, no problem, I'll deal with it. But you don't know this. And they put you through it once, and then they bring you back to the cell, and they go, tomorrow it's going to be worse because you lied to us.

The torture, it's like if you knew that it was going to be 10 minutes, 20 minutes, and that you're going to come out alive, you'd be like, okay, no problem, I'll deal with it. But you don't know this. And they put you through it once, and then they bring you back to the cell, and they go, tomorrow it's going to be worse because you lied to us.

The torture, it's like if you knew that it was going to be 10 minutes, 20 minutes, and that you're going to come out alive, you'd be like, okay, no problem, I'll deal with it. But you don't know this. And they put you through it once, and then they bring you back to the cell, and they go, tomorrow it's going to be worse because you lied to us.

Yes. Yeah, I don't think that all the journalists who are wandering around Syria at the moment, I mean, I suspect that higher-ups, and I know that the higher-ups in Jabhat al-Nusra, which is now Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, they are certain that all those people are reporting back to the CIA. They don't care. They're like, fine, you know, we have a decent system.

Yes. Yeah, I don't think that all the journalists who are wandering around Syria at the moment, I mean, I suspect that higher-ups, and I know that the higher-ups in Jabhat al-Nusra, which is now Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, they are certain that all those people are reporting back to the CIA. They don't care. They're like, fine, you know, we have a decent system.

Yes. Yeah, I don't think that all the journalists who are wandering around Syria at the moment, I mean, I suspect that higher-ups, and I know that the higher-ups in Jabhat al-Nusra, which is now Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, they are certain that all those people are reporting back to the CIA. They don't care. They're like, fine, you know, we have a decent system.

Our intentions are good, so tell the CIA whatever you want to tell them. When they speak to their journalist, they go... You know, please, in their minds, they're saying, and relay all this to your paymasters at the CIA, you Jew. That's what they're thinking, but they're not saying that. You are Jewish, right? I have a Jewish father, but I was not raised as a Jew.