“In the Grip of Reality” is a new Iraqi TV show injected with a chilling dose of actual reality, in which convicted terrorists come face-to-face with their victims. Many of the terrorists are affiliated with the Islamic State (ISIS, ISIL, Daesh).
“We wanted to produce a program that offers clear and conclusive evidence, with the complete story, presented and shown to Iraqi audiences,” the show’s host Ahmad Hassan told The Associated Press. “Through surveillance videos, we show how the accused parked the car, how he blew it up, how he carries out an assassination.”
The show is broadcast in close collaboration with both the Iraqi Justice Department as well as anti-terrorist services.
Iraq is an area of the world where terrorism in the form of car bombings, shootings, assassinations, and attacks in various other forms plague the population on a near-daily basis. A leading message of the show “In the Grip of Reality,” is that the security forces will bring perpetrators to justice, the AP notes.
The show dispels any doubts that the terrorist might be innocent with the display of hard evidence. “Through surveillance videos, we show how the accused parked the car, how he blew it up, how he carries out an assassination… . We show our audiences the pictures, along with hard evidence, to leave no doubts that this person is a criminal and paying for his crimes,” Hassan told the AP.
In a recent episode, a self-professed ISIS terrorist named Tahseen, 26, said his motive for the brutal murders was “to deteriorate security, to have an impact on the media… . That’s what my ‘prince’ told me.”
One of the survivors of his terrorist attacks, stood in front of Tahseen and asked the show’s host “Why did he do this? Aren’t we all Muslims? Isn’t it the same God who created us? Why did he detonate that bomb? What have we done wrong?”
The show then took the convicted terrorist to another site where Tahseen had conducted his murderous terrorist act. This time, a large group of people expressed tremendous rage at his odious slaughter. “If it wasn’t for all these people around I’d eat you alive!!” screamed a survivor. “I swear I’d crush you! You’re scum!”
Down the street, another man’s agonizing screams were exerted with such fortitude that it sounded as though he might pass out at any moment. “You’re a coward! You destroyed our lives! You burned down the little we owned, you’re a bastard! A bastard! Our families, our children, our friends are all dead! He’s a bastard!”
Another terrorist by the name of Al Barra, said on the show that he became radicalized in prison; where he was serving time for a crime he claimed he did not commit. He said he joined ISIS after he left jail.
A senior intelligence officer overseeing the shoot who spoke on condition of anonymity told the AP, “Many of these terrorists feel a lot of remorse when they see the victims. When people see that, it makes them think twice about crossing the law.”
“In the Grip of Justice” is broadcast in Iraq every Friday and sees approximately 9 million viewers.
Footage of one episode of “In the Grip of Justice” below:
Follow Adelle Nazarian on Twitter @AdelleNaz
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