British army accused of "routine abuse" of Iraqi civilians (Roundup)

Sep 21, 2009, 15:12 GMT

   London - The use of illegal interrogation techniques by the British army in Iraq was widespread and endemic, a public inquiry into the 2003 death of hotel receptionist Baha Mousa was told Monday.

   British troops in Iraq routinely used interrogation methods banned by the government in 1972 and clearly did not think they were doing anything illegal, Rabinder Singh, a lawyer for the Mousa family said.

   The British soldiers responsible for the death of 26-year-old Mousa were 'not just a few bad apples,' Singh told the inquiry. 'There is something rotten in the whole barrel,' he said.

   The so-called conditioning of prisoners, through methods such as sleep deprivation, hooding and forcing detainees to stand in stress positions was no more than 'a euphemism for torture,' said Singh.    Mousa was one of 12 Iraqi civilians arrested in the aftermath of anti-British riots in Basra in southern Iraq in September 2003.

   He died after suffering up to 100 injuries in the course of 36 hours of beating during which he screamed constantly, the inquiry heard.

The inquiry has already heard that soldiers from the Queen's Lancashire Regiment subjected Mousa and others to extreme abuse, making them scream in an 'orchestrated choir' and forcing one to 'dance like Michael Jackson.'

It was played a short video Monday showing one soldier, Corporal Donald Payne, screaming obscenities at the hooded detainees and calling them 'apes.'

'The official version of events was that nothing on that video was in fact illegal. What we saw on that video was a soldier trying to implement official policy, forcing detainees to get back into stress positions when they were clearly moaning and unable to maintain those positions,' Singh said.

One of the detainees recalled hearing Mousa scream in agony shortly before he died at the temporary detention facility on the evening of September 15, 2003.

According to the survivor, Mousa pleaded with his tormentors to leave him alone. 'Oh my God, I'm going to die, I'm going to die,' he screamed, according to the fellow-detainee.

   Britain's Ministry of Defence (MoD) has apologized for the death and last year agreed to pay 2.83 million pounds (4.58 million dollars) in compensation to the families of Mousa and nine other men.

   David Barr, counsel for the MoD, said Monday the 'appalling' behaviour of British troops had 'disgusted' the army. 'The brutality was completely unacceptable. It has stained the reputation of the British army,' he told the inquiry.    

   Phil Shiner, a lawyer representing the surviving detainees, said it seemed 'incredible' that the government and politicians in Britain did not know what was going on.

   'I think this goes to the very top of the civil service, to the very top of the intelligence community, to the very top of the military,' he told the inquiry.

   'And I find it incredible that politicians and the cabinet did not know or ought to have known what was going on.'

Shiner said pressing questions must be asked to 'help remove this stain on our nation's reputation.'

'If our nation does face these issues, it may allow us to reflect that some good may have come from the death of Baha Mousa,' he said.    In 2006, Payne was convicted of a war crime after pleading guilty to inhumanely treating civilians at a court martial. But six other soldiers were cleared on all counts.

   Payne was dismissed from the army and sentenced to one year in a civilian jail. His lawyer said Monday his client hoped the public inquiry, would provide a 'clearer and fuller picture' of the events.

Payne wished to apologize 'without hesitation' to each of the detainees, but in particular to the family of Mousa, the lawyer said.

The inquiry was opened at the request of the victims' families in July and is due to run for at least a year. It was adjourned until Wednesday, when Mousa's father will give evidence.