Many were, unfortunately. And content warning about torture and phsyical and sexual assault throughout.

In Saudi Arabian Military Hands

In Saudi Arabia, about 12,000 Iraqi POWs were housed in Artawiyah Camp, which was closed in December 1992. All those POWs who hadn’t left by August 1991 were classed by the Saudi government as refugees. Amnesty International and the Red Cross were angered by this and wanted them classed as civilian internees, because if they were refugees they wouldn’t be protected by the Geneva Conventions, but the Saudi government didn’t budge. In 1992, when Artawiyah closed, everyone (ex-military and civilian refugees) were put into Rafha Camp.

Conditions in both of these camps were terrible. So terrible some prisoners went on hunger strike. The Saudi military ran the camps, and tortured prisoners on a regular basis. One recurring method in Artawiyah was to force sand mixed with water or urine into the victim’s mouth and make them swallow it. Many prisoners were murdered by Saudi soldiers. Some prisoners were also sexually assaulted by them.

There were a whole load of different tortures used but I won’t go into it all.

It was also common to force prisoners back to Iraq, which was in many ways a death sentence. It has been alleged that the Iraqi and Saudi governments made a deal where prisoners would be sent back to Iraq in return for goods like alcohol, but I can’t tell you anything definite about that.

There were riots in 1993 because of the horrific treatment and conditions, which led to a crack-down by the Saudi military. It wouldn’t be until post-2003 with the US government’s invasion of Iraq that large numbers of people began to leave Rafha camp back for their home country, though many were able to go to other countries from the establishment of the camps to their eventual closures.

In Iraqi Dictatorship Hands

In Iraq, details are a bit more scarce. Many deserting soldiers were executed during the war, but afterwards I don’t know. Any of those who deserted to join the 1991 Rebellions would almost certainly have been killed.

Especially after the Gulf War, desertion became a major problem for the Iraqi military and so the regime decided to bring in new measures to stop it. Normally in wartime, deserters were executed; in peace, historically they were executed after the third desertion. However, deserters after 1994 would have their ears cut off and their heads branded. In 1998, the regime ordered all deserters executed.

However, I don’t know about ex-POWs and deserters from the Gulf War itself. It’s certainly possible that many were retroactively punished, but I can't tell you for sure or not because, thus far, I’ve found no details on them. Though many of those who were sent back to Iraq from Artawiyah and Rafha camps were never seen again, so I guess it’s likely that many Gulf War deserters and ex-prisoners would have been tortured and murdered by the regime after the war judging by that.

However, there were also examples of deserters being given amnesty, specifically in 1995 and 1996. Allegedly, this amnesty call was often used to catch deserters. People had to apply for it, and when they gave their names many deserters apparently were murdered by the dictatorship.

In US, UK, and French Military Hands

There is an allegation by Seymour Hersh (the journalist who broke the story of the My Lai Massacre) that there were a few instances where Iraqi POWs were murdered by US troops, in one case by a platoon of Bradley IFVs. He said in his article about it that it was first reported by US service members who claimed to have witnessed the events. What actually happened, though, has never been fully clarified as far as I know. The military denied it and it became a “he-said-she-said” situation. I am personally inclined to believe it, but do be aware that there is still debate about whether or not it happened or how etc.

Many POW’s belongings were confiscated and undocumented, so many prisoners essentially lost most of their things. On the whole, I think Iraqi troops captured by Western forces were treated quite well, but there was an enabling of mistreatment and murder by other forces. All prisoners were handed to the Saudi military who, as we know, tortured and murdered a large number.

Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to find anything about other militaries involved such as the Syrian, Egyptian, or Qatari. But I hope that answers your question!

Sources:

Bilbo, Lt.-Col. Jon F. (1992) Enemy Prisoners of War (EPW) Operations During Operation Desert Storm. Carlisle: US Army War College

Country Reports and Updates: Iraq (2002) War Resisters International, October 02. Available at: War Resisters' International (wri-irg.org), Last Accessed: 03/06/2021

Hersh, Seymour (2000) Overwhelming Force: What Happened in the Final Days of the Gulf War?. The New Yorker, May 15, pp. 49-82

Kessler, Peter (2003) Iraqis prepare to leave remote desert camp. UNHCR, July 28. Available at: UNHCR - Iraqis prepare to leave remote desert camp, Last Accessed: 03/06/2021

Saudi Arabia: Unwelcome “Guests”: The Plight of Iraqi Refugees (1994) Amnesty International,

EDIT: I just remembered reading (but can't remember where at the minute) that Iraqi intelligence infiltrated Coalition POW camps in order to learn who was in there to punish them later, just as an addendum to the section on Iraq's regime