Published: December 20, 2006 11:24 pm         

Local man says he was fired for protecting Iraqi prisoner

As an international police liaison officer, George Dillman was charged with making sure Iraqi police were being trained in the day-to-day operation of a police station — and that included making sure prisoners received proper care.

But the Enid resident and former Garfield County Sheriff’s office deputy said he was fired earlier this month for doing his job after he was asked to represent the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad by looking after a prisoner who also was a U.S. citizen.

Aiham Alsammarae, former Iraqi electricity minister convicted of corruption there, said he broke out of a Baghdad jail last weekend because he feared he was about to be assassinated, ac-cording to published reports.

Dillman, who is back in Enid, said he got an e-mail from Alsammarae two days ago saying just that.

“Hi, I am OK and out of their reach,” Alsammarae wrote in an e-mail to Dillman, who forwarded it to the News & Eagle.

Dillman said he was charged by officials at the U.S. Embassy with taking care of Alsammarae, who holds dual American and Iraqi citizenship, last August when he first entered the Baghdad jail Dillman was helping run.

“I looked after Dr. Alsammarae. I found him to be extra pragmatic,” Dillman said Wednesday. “He’s a man of vision, and he wants what’s best for Iraq.”

Although he was convicted, Alsammarae later was acquitted by a 24-judge panel, Dill-man said.

Dillman did not know why Alsam-marae still was in jail. He said he has seen all the evidence, and he be-lieves Alsammarae is innocent of any wrongdoing. The two developed a friendship because Dillman frequently escorted Alsammarae to court for scheduled appearances in front of an Iraqi judge.

Even Alsammarae did not know why he still was being kept in jail.

“I said it before, and I say it again, there is nothing ... no case pending in the court required me to stay one day in the jail. They make me wait for another eight days just for planning for more lies until they get the chance to kill me!!!” Alsammarae said in the e-mail Dillman received.

Dillman said he looked after Alsammarae because he was instructed to do so by embassy officials.

“My country came to me and asked for my help,” Dillman said.

After Alsammarae was convicted in October, according to the Chicago Tribune, a colleague of Dillman’s decided to take the man from the courtroom to the U.S. Embassy because he said he feared for his life. Embassy officials, though, said Alsammarae had to go back to the jail Dillman was helping run.

Dillman said his employment was terminated earlier this month, before Alsam-marae’s escape, because he and his colleague were told they didn’t respect Iraqi sovereignty. The International Police Liaison Officer program requires police trainers to mentor and train the Iraqis but to stay away from operational duties.

Bill Glass, a former Texas lawman, is Dillman’s colleague who also was fired.

“He and I collectively saved a man’s life and got terminated for it,” Dillman said. “I’d like to have my job back. Let’s just go forth and prosper.”

Alsammarae told news sources Tuesday a “multinational” group helped him escape Sunday from a police station inside Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone.

He would not reveal his current location but did say he was out of Iraq. Dillman said he didn’t know where Alsam-marae was or who helped him escape from the Baghdad jail.

Alsammarae has a home in a Chicago suburb and told news sources he plans to return there after the new year. He had come to Chicago 30 years ago and was a partner in a suburban engineering firm.

In 2003, he be-came a member of the transitional Iraqi government set up after the U.S.-led invasion.

He was detained in August before the October conviction on corruption. He had served two months of the two-year sentence.

He told the New York Times he managed to board a flight out of Baghdad Inter-national Airport and had left Iraq, but he did not offer any proof.

The newspaper quoted officials as saying someone as well known as Alsammarae could not have boarded a flight when he was the subject of a manhunt. But Alsammarae derided Iraqi and U.S. officials in the interview.

U.S. Embassy spokesman Lou Fintor told the Chicago Tribune officials are investigating the case.

When Dillman was visiting his twin brother, Ernie, and other friends in Enid last March, he had just asked DynCorp officials if he could stay on another six months after his initial year of service was up. Dillman said then he was dedicated to his mission in Iraq. He said he was excited about being a part of history, and he hoped Americans learned about the positive work being accomplished.

Dillman was an international police trainer for about 18 months. He said last March while he was on vacation he was happy to be a part of a process helping promote democracy in one corner of the world.