Saddam’s Road to Hell documentary wins Emmy award

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KRG.org, 30 Sep. 2007

A British documentary has been recognised with an Emmy award in New York for its “outstanding investigation” into the disappearance of 8,000 Barzani Kurds, one of the major atrocities committed by Saddam’s regime.

Produced by RW Films and screened in North America on the PBS series Frontline World, Saddam's Road to Hell was also shown by Channel 4 in the UK.

The film discovers what happened to 8,000 Barzani Kurds who were abducted by Iraqi Government troops in 1983.Watched by Saddam Hussein at his trial in Baghdad before his execution earlier this year, it directly implicates him in their murder.

The award was made for “Outstanding Investigative Journalism in a News Magazine.”

“We’re delighted,” said executive producer Sadie Wykeham. “The competition was really tough, and for a small production company like ours to take on and beat huge commercial broadcasters like CBS “60 Minutes” and ABC 20/20 is a real achievement.”

Director Gwynne Roberts said: “But beyond that, we’ve also managed to bring home to an international audience the horrors visited on the Kurds under Saddam.”

Directors Gwynne Roberts and John Williams followed a team of Kurdish investigators led by Dr Mohammed Ihsan through Iraq collecting documents, testimony, video and forensic evidence. Passing through Baghdad and the “triangle of death,” the investigators braved roadside bombs and Al Qaeda terrorists.

Their successful search for the remains of the abducted Kurds ended up in the remote deserts of southern Iraq near the Kuwaiti and Saudi borders.

Director John Williams died of a heart attack in northern Iraq during the making of the film.