we were we were in a very grave dangerous situation. this place was hell on earth. if they wanted to kill you, they

killed you. but nobody said a word to them. ? we had no idea whether we were going to come out of this alive. ry went to iraq in may 1990. i was 26 years old. i had been given a 12-month contract on a gas and oil field. the money looked good so i decided to take up on the option. it was very exciting opportunity for a young lad to go to a part of the world that most people didn't know about. i was looking forward to it in a big way. the oil field was 15 miles west of saddam's hometown and it was

named the arabic for saddam's oil field. it didn't cause any alarm bells but just felt we were working on something important. the living quarters were within the compound area and everything was self-contained within that site. my immediate boss on the project was another irish man about 10 years older than me. his name was john white. we formed a good relationship from the beginning. >> how was your flight? >> it was good. >> when tom turned up i thought he was a fantastic guy. he was so full of life, so exuberant. we got on very well straight away. >> so we've got good people here. want me to show you around? >> that would be great. >> i want to show you around. >> i was one of the 15 engineers that i had under my control and they looked up to me because of

my experience in the region. >> i knew quite a bit about the point or so i thought. at that particular point, all things were going splendid and my two weeks r and r was coming up. i was really looking forward to getting back to ireland to see my children and my wife. i was very excited about that. i thought there was nothing on the horizon to suggest that i wouldn't make it home. that morning, turned on my radio, heard the news that saddam had invaded kuwait. we heard that they were pulling families out of homes, raping women, there were mass killings, the reports from kuwait were

shocking. absolutely shocking. very quickly the western world started making threats against iraq and we realized that we were now in a very dangerous situation. we were now in the middle of what was shaping up to be a full scale war. >> my whole desire was to get out of there and to get back to my family. but my wife said saddam had put a block on all transportation in and out of the country. it hit home like a thunder bolt. she said we were going to be used as human shields.

>> we were on saddam's oil field. it was nerve wracking to consider that we were going to be in the line of fire. so i knew that we needed to take some drastic action or else i wasn't sure if i was going to -- i wasn't sure what was going to become of us. very soon a group of us started to plan for the escape. we knew the only way out was going to be a land crossing across one of the countries that bordered iraq. syria, turkey, jordan and iran. >> we split into teams of two and three. >> what do you think about yourself and michael heading toward turkey? >> if the team discovered there was a way out, that team would return to the site and a larger group would attempt the escape, but there were risks.

we knew if they discovered what we were up to, we would be lifted immediately by iraqi security. but these seemed better than waiting for the bombing to happen. one by one they went out and one by one, they came back. soldiers were to be seen everywhere. check points along the roads every 20 or 30 miles. it was beginning to look like our situation was really hopeless. but the determination was there to continue to try. >> so what do you think? >> well, can't go on the main roads. >> had to look at some of the more difficult options. john and i decided we would

drive north to a small town and head west and have a look at that 120 mile of desert that separated hatra from the syrian border. we knew there were big, big risks in trying to get across this desert so our plan was to penetrate 15, 20 kilometers and see if the vehicle was able to get through and come back and report back to the rest of the team. >> let's hope this works. >> there was a great sense of adventure. and a great sense of hope. >> john seemed excited about this trip. if there was this option to get out, he would be home with his family pretty soon. that's, after all, what he

wanted. back in ireland i'd been part of the reserve defense forces. so to get us through the desert, i made a makeshift compass. i knew it was going to be some way important, but i didn't understand at the time how important that compass was going to be. as we were driving north, our only concern was that military would stop us and if they did, what would be the outcome. but we were getting more and more hopeful, this was starting to look easy. and then we hit our first problem. >> in the distance we could see this much larger checkpoint. all the soldiers had their kalashnikovs on their shoulder. there were officers present. and it was our first moment of concern. >> we pulled up and the senior

officer started asking us questions in basic english as to where we were going. [ speaking in foreign language ] >> i don't understand. >> where you go? >> we're going to hatra. >> he started barking and shouting. all of a sudden there was a commotion around the back of the vehicle. an iraqi soldier jumped in with an ak-47. all of a sudden we were waved on through the checkpoint not knowing what was happening. now we were in the middle of iraq heading out on our reconnaissance mission, something we clearly shouldn't have been doing with an iraqi soldier in the back of the car. we was discussing in gaelic language why he's here. who's this guy? >> what do you think this fella's in here for. >> we discussed turning around but we knew we couldn't. so we had to carry on. we didn't know what to do when

we got to hatra with this soldier in the back.

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we were now in a very much limbo situation. armed soldier in the back not knowing what he was doing there. >> we were driving along and then the guy just started roaring and shouting. >> we had no idea what he wanted us to do now. so we stopped the vehicle. >> okay, okay, okay. all right, all right, all right. >> all of a sudden he ran around to the side of our vehicle. [ speaking in foreign language ] >> it turned out he was simply just riding a lift with us into hatra.

>> there was a great sense of relief amongst tom and i. >> we could now make this evaluation we set out to do. >> at the edge of hatra was this vast inhospitable desert. we knew there was nothing there between us and syria for at least 150 miles. we knew there were going to be vast challenges in getting across it, but i also understood that we were only going out 15 kilometers and then we would report back to the rest of the team. >> this is it then. >> yep. let's go.

>> the first five kilometers or so went entirely to plan. the surface was pretty flat and my roughly made compass was giving us the right way we should be heading. then we came across our first problem in that desert. >> we came upon these vast dunes and craters which we couldn't drive through. >> i knew this was going to be a concern, but i was still convinced we were get around them without getting lost. >> keep left. >> i know, i know. >> after 15 kilometers we had achieved exactly what we'd set out to do. we knew we were going to pushed by the river beds but it looked like there was a way out to the syrian border so i said to

john -- >> about time to head back. set out what we went to do. john's response was very strange. >> we're going to take it forward. >> we said 15 kilometers was the point. >> we're going a little bit further out. >> i began to wonder why was john asking us to go a little bit more. i know we had accomplished what had we set out to do. i felt i wasn't having my proper say in this. i think i understood better than he did the implications. i was watching the fuel gauge very, very closely. >> john, we have to head back. we're about to go past the point of no return. our lives are on the line. >> no. i'm going to keep going. >> there were no reasons to continue. >> we're doing fine. >> we have one bottle of water between us two. we're not prepared at all! >> let's just keep going. >> for god's sake, john!

>> i had to play the trump card and say our responsibilities are back with the people on site. >> they're expecting us to come back with news as to whether we could go or not. >> i wasn't going back. i was going to continue until the last drop was gone out of that tank. and that i was in syria. i wanted more than anything to get home and see my family. at the expense of tom and the other guys i'd left behind. just consumed. >> i was not happy about this, but there was no chance of going back anymore. we couldn't have made it back. the point of no return had been exceeded. i resigned myself to it and i decided to get us to where we were meant to be going. but it was a very scary time.

there was absolutely nothing in that desert to indicate whether we were on the right track or not. at one stage we were doing such large sweeps left and right that i was seriously doubting whether we were going around in circles or not. we'd less than a quarter tank left. so we turned off the air conditioning to reduce the amount of fuel consumption. even though the outside temperature had reached nearly 50 degrees celsius. we had about half a bottle of water left and i knew either fuel running out or water running out or combination of both was very, very likely to kill us here. >> the situation at that particular moment was grim.

i knew i had made the wrong decision. and i became incredibly worried. it seemed like all our hopes were shattered. >> all of a sudden we saw telegraph poles. i don't think i fully believed it. it meant someone was out there. >> look over there. >> i see it. i see it. >> suddenly we saw in front of us a tarmac road. i was elated. i can't describe to you the feeling. i felt vindicated that i had pushed on.

i honestly believed that we had had made it to syria. then we had to make a decision whether to go right or left. >> left. >> we were driving down the road and there was a great sense of achievement between tom and myself. i was really convinced that we had made it. completely convinced. and then suddenly we saw iraqi flags. we were devastated. absolutely crushed. i felt obviously all of that was for absolutely nothing. >> suddenly we noticed military

vehicles were coming at us with great speed. >> we realized we're in a highly sensitive militarized area. we wanted to turn around quickly and drive away from them. they had already seen us. >> it's at that moment that the nightmare really started. . twenty grand? -no! we are giving it away for just 3 easy payments of $4.99 plus tax! the lines are blowing up! we've got deborah from poughkeepsie. flo: yeah, no, it's flo. you guys realize anyone can use the "name your price" tool for free on progressive.com, right? [ laughing nervously ] ♪ [ pickles whines ] i know, it's like they're always on television. what? (two text tones) now? (text tone) excuse me. (phone tone) again? be right back. always running to the bathroom because your bladder is calling the shots?

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>> iraqi military vehicles were coming at us with speed through the desert. >> it was abundantly clear we were in a very, very serious situation. we knew this would take a lot of getting out of. >> the military vehicles surrounded us. several soldiers pointed ak-47s at us. they were all excited and clamoring and shouting. there was a huge amount of uncertainty there. were they just going to

discharge weapons at us? a few moments later a captain came up through the front of the iraqi group. [ speaking in foreign language ] >> we don't understand. >> oh, you speak english. >> yes. >> so what are you doing here? >> we told them that we'd been in hatra looking at archaeological ruins and we got lost in the desert. >> lost? >> yes. >> hatra is here. we are here. a long way, no? >> he obviously didn't believe us. this guy was too intelligent not to know what was happening. we knew our number was up then.

>> we had no idea where we were going or where we were to be taken. after an hour's driving, we came to a large military installation. >> we were brought into this dining hall area. the whole table was laid out for dinner. then tom and i had to sit there and have dinner with them. people were looking very, very strangely at us and started talking and laughing. something was seriously wrong. >> suddenly everything took a very, very serious turn for the worst.

there was a complete air of coldness about them. it felt like the air of that temperature dropped by ten degrees. >> i recognized him as the iraqi secret police. the iraqi people were terrified of these people because of their ruthlessness. they torture people. they kill people. they are the most terrifying people in the world. >> they moved us very quickly out of that room. there was no delay in anything they did. a complete knot in our stomachs developed. >> where are you taking us? [ speaking in foreign language ] >> the anxiety was beginning to escalate because we were now in an entirely different situation.

>> we pulled up outside a plush hotel in the middle of baghdad. i had no idea why i was arriving there. >> they brought us into the lobby where quite a substantial amount of other western expats were. in secret we were able to speak with a few of the westerners. >> what are they using this place for? >> it's a turning center. every time people come, people go. >> go where? >> we are being used as human

shields. >> i don't think we could believe it. we had attempted to find ways out of iraq and we were now going to be put right in the firing lane that we tried to avoid. >> that was a pretty frightening prospect. [ speaking in foreign language ] >> we were whisked upstairs pretty quickly. >> this was a very, very heavily guarded area. we were brought down to the very end room and they closed the door behind us. i was angry towards john for getting us into this situation. i thought that maybe there was a way out of this.

in the suite there was a phone. >> john, it has a dial tone. >> this was absolutely fantastic because we knew as electrical engineers once the tone was there we could make a call. >> it had no dial plate on the phone but you would overcome this by tapping the top of the phone. i tried tapping the irish embassy number. i could hear the phone attempting to make the connection. i was completely surprised to hear that the phone was picked up by the embassy staff. it was a very hurried conversation. i didn't want to hold that line open. i urged the ambassador to come as quickly as possible. the minute we got dispatched to some vital installation, it would have been very hard to track us down again. i stayed on about a minute and a half maximum.

>> when police guys came in, we didn't know what was happening. >> had they detected that i'd been on the phone? was i in for some serious trouble as a result? were we being taken to a vital installation? we just didn't know. the first thing i saw was that the first consulate was there. it was a fantastic feeling. it was a flood of relief. >> it gave us renewed hope that very, very soon our ordeal was going to end. >> boy, are we glad to see you. >> we blurted out our story.

>> we went into the desert to explore a little bit and we got lost. that's when those guys picked us up and brought us here. >> we asked him to intervene. to stop us being sent out to vital installations. >> i have a very young family. i need to get out of here. >> but there was no optimism in what he was saying. >> you're in a foreign country. you were caught in an area you shouldn't have been. we're doing everything we can. >> what does that mean? >> we're doing the best we can. >> it was obvious it wasn't in his power to do anything. we were not going to be released. there was no negotiation and we were back to the same situation. he gave us a few important things. some money, passports. then we were taken out of that room. >> suddenly there was an order barked out by one of the senior policemen. the men were being taken by military. they were to be used as human shields.

and it left the wives and children crying and screaming. they had no idea if they were ever going to see their men again. we knew for sure we were going to get on one of those buses. that's why we were there. it really seemed i would never see my family again. oh i'm not a security guard, i'm a security monitor. i only notify people if there is a robbery. there's a robbery. why monitor a problem if you don't fix it? that's why lifelock does more than free credit monitoring to protect you from identity theft. we not only alert you to identity threats, if you have a problem, we'll spend up to a million dollars on lawyers and experts to fix it. lifelock. join starting at $9.99 a month.

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clinton. now back to locked up abroad. all of a sudden, we were pushed out the door and moved down the corridor very, very fast. >> we felt that we were being moved onto strategic locations as human shields. it was unbearable. >> the secret police brought us out the back door of the hotel and we were put in a waiting vehicle. and to our horror i could see that the irish diplomatic car was being held up at the security gates. it became clear that that was the reason for our urgent departure. >> look, look, look.

>> they clearly didn't want the two of us to meet up again. that tenuous link with the outside world was now being taken from us yet again. and it just heightened the sense of danger, the fact that they clearly could not accept the embassy knowing where we were going. >> we were moved to a very, very bleak building within the city of baghdad. we had no idea what were we doing there. >> we were pushed into a place which was as far as you can possibly imagine from the hotel we'd just come from. >> suddenly we were encased in a sea of bodies all shouting, screaming, trying to figure out who we were, what we were.

it was a frightening, frightening experience. >> we were quickly guided to one of these dugouts in the side of the wall. i realized that we were now in a prison-type environment. and it looked like we were going to be dealt with as part of the criminal system. why else would we be there? we didn't know what the charges was going to be. we didn't know what penalty was being sought. it was a pretty frightening situation to comprehend. >> later that night there was a blast of automatic gunfire. we were sure that it was a firing squad. >> we asked ourselves, were we next? we know they were able to remove us from any contact with the outside would would be ease to

remove us. it was at this time john rapidly went downwards. he lost it. he retreated into himself. >> i felt we wouldn't make it. i had almost thrown in the towel. >> the more that john's head dropped and the more he lost his sense of purpose, the more i pushed myself to look for some solution, some route out. so i started to explore all the various different dens and cubby holes in that compound. one was a toilet area with a

slit window up high. so i decided to see if it represented a way out from where we were. i started widening it. using my fingers, i made some impact on it but not enough. so i managed to pry a brick out of the surface of that place. that then became a tool so i could make much more progress. suddenly i heard footsteps coming. i was in a very dangerous situation. if i was found doing what i was doing, i would be next in the firing line. i had to make believe as if i was using the toilet facilities.

the reality was that as much as i wanted to get out of that place, it just wasn't going to work. but i didn't resign myself at all after that. one option had failed. i'd wait and see what the next option might be. we were fully expecting to wait in that detention center and that that was to be our fate. but after five days the guard came for us. >> for one moment i felt that just maybe we were actually being released. just maybe i would get to see my family again. >> but they were waiting for us with two more. >> here we were again back in the arms of the secret police. i was absolutely certain our situation was going to get worse.

but they brought us to an infamous prison in the center of baghdad called shaab stadium. once i realized this is where we were, i almost had a heart attack. it was a notorious interrogation center where the secret police were not governed by any law. they were the law. they decided they were going to torture you, they tortured you. they were going to kill you, they kill you and nobody said a word to them. >> we were led into the depths of this prison down long corridors. the atmosphere was getting thicker and more dense. we heard screams of pain. finally they came to the end of a corridor. they pushed us both in and closed the doors behind us.

>> this is crazy. why are we here? what are we doing! >> needless to say, we were incredibly scared. later that night we heard this incredible commotion. screams and shouts and dragging of people around the corridor outside. we shot up, tried to look out. it was a very small little opening in the door. we could actually see it a little bit up the corridor. it just heightened our sense of fear as if it wasn't high enough already. emotionally to hear another human being being tortured, it is mind blowing. >> we had to consider we were next. why else would we be there? >> we were seriously concerned for our lives. never in my life will i forget

it. i can still hear the screams like they're just happening outside the door right now. seven. i just wish one of those people could have been mrs. johnson. [dog bark] trust me, we're dealing with a higher intelligence here. ♪ the all-new audi q7 is here. ♪ (two text tones) now? (text tone) excuse me. (phone tone) again? be right back. always running to the bathroom because your bladder is calling the shots? (text tone) you may have oab. enough of this. we're going to the doctor. take charge and ask your doctor about myrbetriq. that's myr-be-triq, the first and only treatment... ...in its class for oab symptoms of urgency...

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of hard stools. dulcolax, designed for dependable relief the next morning they opened the door to lead us down to the toilet area. [ speaking in foreign language ] >> there was a long, long corridor that we had to walk down. i noticed from the corner of my eye something hanging. i looked away because i didn't understand what it was and then i was able to look back.

i stood transfixed. there were two iraqis hanging by their arms. their whole chests were completely open in circular lines where obviously somebody had whipped them. it was a dreadful, dreadful sight. tom was completely freaked. he really was so, so afraid, so scared. he was quite uncontrollable. >> i felt complete abhorrence that anyone could do this to someone else. a serious desire overcame me to get the people who did this and to tear their eyes out. it was the most overwhelming and draining series of emotions i've ever had.

>> finally they moved us. we were brought onto this prison we were brought onto this prison bus. we sped out the front gates. suddenly a mean looking guard came into the back shouting and roaring loudly at the top of his voice. [ speaking in foreign language ] >> he stamped down the center of the bus. he blocked off all the ventilation hatches in the roof. >> can't breathe in here! >> now effectively we were in a steel coffin with no air getting in.

the internal air temperature started rising and rising and rising. temperatures were probably around 50 degrees. it was becoming extremely hard to take each breath. i believed there was a very, very strong chance people were going to suffocate in here. i was getting very angry. here was another sadistic iraqi causing direct hurt and injury to someone. i noticed that he was carrying a pistol very clearly on his right hip. and i was so angry and so furious, i wanted to jump up and grab the gun. but was i going to be able to get that gun from his holster? would i manage to cock it in time? and if i did, was i going to be able to do what you're supposed to do with a loaded pistol? and that was to pull the trigger.

i decided not to go ahead with it. and i felt guilty with myself for several hours for not going ahead with it. finally we arrived at a police base. we were taken off to a small room and there sitting in the room was the first consult. >> we were thrilled to see him, but we were also incredibly intrigued as to why contact had been re-established. the reason that he was there was to inform us that we were going to trial. >> the charge was being in an

area prohibited by military law. this charge was an allegation that we had been spying and that carried with it an 18-year sentence. >> i'm afraid there's little the embassy can do at this point. >> it was a shocking moment to realize that after all we'd been through, it comes down to a court case. and we knew in our heart and soul that we were going to be found guilty. and we knew that in itself was a death sentence.

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finally we were given a definite day for the trial. and we now knew it was going to be in three days' time. they were three of the longest days in my entire life. i knew that where i was was a direct result of decisions that were imposed upon me by john.

so i had to work at keeping the resent and the blame out of the equation. there was enough other emotions in my life at that point. there just wasn't room for those ones as well. >> after the trial we sat in our cell. nobody was letting us know whether we were guilty or not guilty. >> it was a pretty bad time mentally. for both of us. >> finally one of the guards came and called for john and i. he indicated take your bags. we were completely deflated. we thought we were being moved somewhere for 18 years. we asked him several times which particular prison it was. >> which prison?

>> and he said you are free. you are free. i don't think we could believe it. it was just immense. somebody was at last telling us we were free. we were taken out and standing in front of us was the suv we had used to get across the desert. the first consul was waiting there for us. >> is it true? are we free? >> he said you were found not guilty and you're being released. >> as we left, it was an overpowering feeling. tom and i were shouting and roaring inside the vehicle.

just incredibly relieved to have gotten ourselves out of that situation. to his eternal credit, tom in -- never in any way blamed me for the situation that we found ourselves in. could have and should have, but he kept his counsel. >> his decision to carry on caused me extreme hardship, however, it doesn't cause me any bitterness. it doesn't cause me any resent. what happened happened and we both got through it. >> my family were waiting for me in dublin. it was fantastic. it was just wonderful. all that madness was finally behind me, you know?

i'd managed to get home. it was good to be back, back reunited with my loved ones. yeah. >> msnbc takes you behind the walls of america's most notorious prisons into a world of chaos and danger. now the scenes you've never seen. "lockup": raw. this is the hardest part because you're in here with very little to do. you sleep.