Abu Ghraib question raised at trial over UK abuse of Iraqis

Some 222 Iraqi civilians were the victims of "systemic abuse" including torture and inhumane and degrading treatment at the hands of UK soldiers and interrogators in Iraq, the High Court has been told.Public Interest Lawyers, solicitors acting on behalf of the Iraqis, yesterday submitted video evidence to two judges to support their claims and demands for a public inquiry.

The Iraqi civilians complain the abuse occurred during the period between March 2003 and December 2008 in UK-controlled detention facilities in Iraq in the aftermath of the war to topple Saddam Hussein.

The Iraqis' team of legal advisers has been challenging a refusal by Defence Secretary Liam Fox to order a new, wide-ranging inquiry into the allegations and whether there was systemic abuse, as opposed to ill treatment by "rogue soldiers".

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Michael Fordham QC, appearing for the Iraqis, said: "There are credible allegations of serious, inhumane practices across a whole range of dates and facilities concerning British military detention in Iraq."

The QC asked: "Is this Britain's Abu Ghraib?" – referring to the prison in Iraq which became notorious for allegations of torture and abuse against US soldiers.

Alleged inhumane treatment included keeping Iraqis naked if they did not co-operate and various kinds of sexual abuse. There were also accusations of depriving individuals of food and water as a means of "softening up" prisoners for interrogation, as well as prolonged solitary confinement, sleep deprivation and mock executions.

The lead claimant in the application for judicial review is Ali Zaki Mousa, from Basra, Iraq's second largest city, who alleges that he suffered months of beatings and other abuse in the custody of UK soldiers in 2006-7.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The Ministry of Defence points to the existence of the Baha Mousa Inquiry, due to report early next year, and a second inquiry, the Al Sweady Inquiry, which is due to start hearing evidence next year.

Lawyers for the Defence Secretary argue those inquiries are enough to meet the UK's obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights.

Mr Fordham said the public inquiry the Iraqi citizens wanted would not ignore the findings of the other inquiries but become part of an "integrated solution" to discover the truth.

"It just means that somebody who is independent is taking responsibility for getting to the truth," he said.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Mr Fordham also argued that the most striking feature of what happened to individual alleged victims "cannot be explained by references to rogue soldiers disobeying orders".

"There were 160 allegations of sight deprivation, including 117 allegations of the use of blackened goggles. "There were 122 of sound deprivation, usually with ear muffs, and 59 of hooding," said Mr Fordham.

Similarly, the prosecuting lawyers have claimed that allegations have come forward that indicated a clear practice of placing detainees in stress positions – with 132 alleged incidents ranging from keeping people kneeling for long periods to having them standing with their arms lifted.

A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: "These remain unproven allegations of mistreatment.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

"The MoD takes all allegations seriously and has already set up the dedicated Iraq Historic Allegations Team (IHAT) to investigate them.

"The IHAT is the most effective way of investigating these unproven allegations rather than a costly public inquiry."

The hearing was adjourned until Monday.

Related topics: