British army accused of 'routine abuse' of Iraqi civilians

[sabra]

Source: Earthtimes

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."

Read more: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/286617,british-army-accused-of-routine-abuse-of-iraqi-civilians--summary.html

[Solly Mack]

1. K&R

[JohnyCanuck]

2. The Queen's Lancashire Regiment

I hope her majesty is duly proud of her boys, torturing for Queen and country.

[Crowman1979]

3. Britain and torture go hand in hand.

Hell, they've been doing that profession looooong before they established Jamestown.