BAGHDAD -

Talks about the use of "hypnosis" by robbery gangs in various Iraqi provinces escalated, with the aim of robbing shop owners, money exchange companies and pharmacies, amid official conflicting descriptions of this case, and calls for solutions to prevent these gangs from implementing their plans that raise concern among the public.

A few years ago, “strange” stories about these thefts began to surface, through video clips broadcast by citizens claiming that they had been robbed using “hypnosis”, but doubts were surrounding the truth of the matter, before these clips spread repeatedly, up to official statements issued by Ministry of Interior Affairs.

Hypnosis or hypnosis is a calm and relaxed state of mind, in which the subconscious receives suggestions and responds to them more broadly, and in this case the subconscious mind is highly responsive to suggestions and suggestions.

In the latest of these incidents, the Ministry of Interior recently announced the arrest of 3 accused of stealing an exchange company in the capital, Baghdad, and said - in a statement - that "the accused deluded the victims and stole their money, as 3 people entered an exchange office and used hypnosis on its owner, and they managed to steal an amount of money." Money in the amount of $3,000.

Al-Bayati says he was robbed using hypnosis (Al-Jazeera)

"Take it for free"

Omar Al-Bayati (a tire dealer in the capital, Baghdad) talks about his being robbed using this trick, saying that "a person I do not know riding a motorcycle entered my locality in the Karrada area, and asked me about the price of one of the batteries, and after my answer to him, he said that I did not have the money to buy it, so I told him Take it for free."

Al-Bayati added - in his speech to Al-Jazeera Net - "After that, the person approached me and kissed my head, and he had a ring in his hand, so he put it on my head as well, and after a few seconds he asked me for my wallet, so I gave it to him, and took the money from it, and inside it was about 4 thousand dollars, some of which were in dinars. There was nothing left in it except for a small amount of about 10,000 dinars (about 7 dollars), and before he left the shop he called me by my name and went on his way without understanding what happened to me.”

In the Diwaniyah governorate, Walid Al-Mansoori seemed confused after losing one million and 100,000 dinars (more than 700 dollars) from the money of his small workshop for changing car oils.

Al-Mansouri tells what happened to him to Al-Jazeera Net, saying, "3 people came to me in a pickup car, a person got out of it and touched my hand, then I began to lose my feeling little by little, and during that, he asked me: Do you see the other man sitting in the car? His wife is angry with him, We are here to sit with the dignitaries in an attempt to reconcile, and I would like to make a prank with him by borrowing a sum of money from you and giving it to him in exchange for leaving his wife, and he kept promising me that he would return that money.”

Al-Mansoori added, "I rejected the idea at first, because I did not know them, but then, unconsciously, I handed him one million and 100,000 dinars, which I had allocated to purchase the needs of the workshop, and then the man got into his car and they all went quickly, and after a few minutes I began to regain my usual feeling, and I realized what had happened." .

Al-Mahna: Hypnosis cannot be used in theft crimes (Al-Jazeera)

a different view

During the past period, with the spread of news of these cases and the turmoil surrounding them, Iraqis expressed their concern through social networks about these incidents, and if they were actually carried out through "hypnosis", especially since the official authorities seemed not to hold the threads of truth, and did not have an accurate description of these cases.

Although the Iraqi Ministry of Interior announced the arrest of 3 people using "hypnosis" in theft, the Ministry's spokesperson, Major General Khaled Al-Muhanna, had reservations about this announcement, and gave his description of those cases.

Al-Muhanna said in an interview with Al-Jazeera Net that "hypnosis cannot be used in crimes of theft, as it is a psychological concept, and no one can steal the other with these movements."

The Iraqi official explains the nature of these incidents, that “what happened is not hypnosis, but rather a case of fraud through the use of various means, including an agreement with the shop worker on this story to obtain part of the money stolen often from the merchant or shop owner, or through the use of narcotics, as well as about using sleight of hand.

Regarding the video clips spread on social media pages and talking about this, Al-Muhanna confirms that “the investigations concluded that they are not real, and that the case is fraudulent and an investigation was opened in the matter, and we arrested some people, and they admitted that the crimes were carried out in cooperation with the people who claim to be hypnotized, so it was They have a prior agreement in some cases.

Al-Enezi: No one can hypnotize the other and affect him without his acceptance (Al-Jazeera)

It has nothing to do with theft

Psychotherapy Dr. Nagham Al-Anzi confirmed that "hypnosis is a psychological treatment that is used by specialists by hypnotizing the outward mind, and keeping the subconscious mind to reveal what is in it, according to terms and conditions."

Al-Anazi added in her speech to Al-Jazeera Net that "no one can hypnotize and influence the other without his acceptance, it must be with the consent and knowledge of both parties, and certain conditions and special places with dim and quiet lighting away from the noise, and other conditions must be available until it happens." Hypnosis, just as the hypnotist moves according to the subconscious mind and does not remember what was asked of him and what he did after waking up.”

Concerning these incidents, and the controversy surrounding them, Al-Anazi believes that “what is happening has absolutely nothing to do with hypnosis, because the owners remember the details of the incident, and this indicates that they were aware of what happened around them and of their own volition, as well as losing the conditions required for this type of hypnosis.” treatment".

positive side

Despite the controversy surrounding the use of hypnosis by organized crime gangs in robbery, this type of treatment has a positive side, as for thousands of years it has played a major role in the field of healing and healing.

According to the World Health Organization, 90% of the general population is hypnotic.