Iraqi man arrested, allegedly beaten in front of own mural

He was arrested in front of his own mural.

Minneapolis artist Haider Al-Amery, an Iraqi who said he spent two years in a cramped prison cell for refusing to fight for Saddam Hussein, was arrested and allegedly brutalized by Minneapolis police April 27, in front of the giant mural on First Avenue, called “The Dream,” that he had helped paint.

At a press conference June 3, Al-Amery said police stopped him that day and demanded to know where he was from.

“When he responded he was from Iraq, one of the police officers punched him in the eye,” said Meg Novak, Babylon Collective Art Across Borders Director and Al-Amery’s partner. “The officer then slammed his head into the squad car and slammed his elbow into Al-Amery’s back.”

The police report states that officers stopped Al-Amery on First Avenue between Fourth and Fifth Street for reckless driving, after he “almost hit the squad car and then ran the red light at 1st and Central … and ran another driver off the road.”
While officers were searching for weapons, the report said, Al-Amery “lifted his right hand and closed his fist and began moving towards [an officer].” The officer then “struck [Al-Amery] with an open hand slap to the face.”

Al-Amery said he spent one hour in the back of the squad car, until he was brought to HCMC to receive medical attention for his injuries and was taken to crisis, although Novak said his black eye was omitted from the hospital report. Photos of the injury date from April 29, two days after the incident.

Al-Amery is an artist who worked for months with his uncle Sabri to create “The Dream.”

Phil Steger, Director of Friends for a Non-Violent World, cites Al-Amery’s gentleness, which he attributes to his two-year stint in “prison because he refused to fight for Saddam.” Steger also noted that Al-Amery was a veteran of the Shia uprising in 1991 and spent seven years in a refugee camp in Saudi Arabia.

Steger described recent allegations of police violence as a microcosm of current international events.

“We’re realizing the damage, not just to individuals, but for the entire nation,” Steger said. “This must end.”

“Law should be enforced equally against the police,” Chris Nisan, from the Community Campaign to Prosecute the Police, said.

Novak quoted Al-Amery stating, “I am not a bad person. I do art, I’m not a person from the street.”

Al-Amery was charged with reckless driving, and his court date has been set for June 21.

Novak is trying to raise funds to help pay for Al-Amery’s lawyer. Anyone interested in making a donation can mail a check to Haider Al-Amery, 3033 Cedar Avenue, Minneapolis, MN 55407.