Known as the 'man under the hood' from Abu Ghraib prison, Ali Shalal Qaissi kept his audience transfixed with gruesome details about his capture and torture while in the custody of the US military forces in Iraq.

Ali, 45, read his account in Arabic, while a screen in the background projected the translation in English at today's session of the 'Expose War Crimes - Criminalise War' three-day conference in Kuala Lumpur.

The Merdeka Hall of Putra World Trade Centre was packed with 2,000 people, who listened with rapt attention.

Ali, an Islamic education lecturer, began by describing his arrest: "On Oct 13, 2003, while I was going to pray in the mosque in Al-Amraya, the American troops arrested me.

"They tied my hands to the back of my body and put a bag over my head. They took me to a small prison in a US military camp in Al-Amraya."

He was then put through a physical examination where he was made to sit on a toilet floor that was flooded with water and human waste. He was then interrogated.

"The interrogators charged me with being anti-Zionist, anti-Semitic, supporter of the resistance, and instigator in opposing the occupation, and said that I knew the location of Osama bin Laden," he said.

When he refused to co-operate, he was transferred to another part of the prison surrounded by walls and barbed wire.

He painted a dim picture of the conditions, as he explained how little food the prisoners were given. Basic necessities were not made available to them either.

The details of torture were vivid and left an impact on delegates, some of whom had shocked expressions on their faces.

"This Israeli dressed in civilian clothes tortured me by inserting first, a jagged wooden stick into my rectum, and then the barrel of a rifle," said Ali.

"I was cut inside and bled profusely. During this time, any guards who walked past me, they would beat me. I had no food for 36 hours."

Ali said he lost his hearing and his mind when the pop song 'By the Rivers of Babylon' by Boney M was played continuously while he was tied to grills.

Photos of ordeal

The highlight of his speech was when he described to the crowd what happened when the infamous photo was taken of him in a hood and robe, and hooked up to electrical wire.

"As the electric current entered my whole body, I felt as if my eyes were being forced out and sparks were flying out.

"My teeth were clattering violently and my legs shaking violently as well. My whole body was shaking all over.

The Iraqi citizen now residing in Jordan said photographs were taken throughout the entire ordeal.

He was released early March 2004 and has since set up an organisation assisting other torture victims.

"I feel very sad that I have to remember and re-live this horrible experience again and again. I hope that the Malaysian people will answer our call for help.

During the question session, he was asked how he survived the torture.

His reply was short but effective: "God gave humans immense strength. I survived with God's help."

By the end of the session moderated by Dr Siti Hasmah Ali, wife of former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad, the audience broke into spontaneous applause.

There was a controversy in 2004 when it was revealed that Ali was not exactly the man in the infamous photograph - standing on a cardboard box, hooded, with wires attached to outstretched arms - which had become a symbol of tortures in Abu Ghraib prison.

While Ali had conceded that he was not the man in that particular photograph, he said he was made to stand in a similar position and shocked with wires.

According to US military records, Ali was indeed held at Abu Ghraib, and he appeared with a hood over his head in other photographs that were seized from the computer belonging to the soldier later convicted of being the ringleader of the abuse.

The international conference which ends tomorrow is organised by Perdana Global Peace Organisation, of which Mahathir is the chairperson.

He has signalled intent to use certified witness accounts to have world leaders tried in absentia by proposed Kuala Lumpur War Crimes Tribunal.