UNITED KINGDOM/FILE: Lawyers representing 192 Iraqis take their cases of alleged abuses by British soldiers to the High Court in London

Record ID: 334663

  • Title: UNITED KINGDOM/FILE: Lawyers representing 192 Iraqis take their cases of alleged abuses by British soldiers to the High Court in London
  • Date: 29th January 2013
  • Summary: LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM (FILE - JANUARY 19, 2005) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (REUTERS) BRITISH NEWSPAPERS WITH HEADLINES ON IRAQI ABUSE PHOTOGRAPHS
  • Embargoed: 13th February 2013 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Iraq
  • Country: Iraq
  • Topics: Crime,Conflict
  • Reuters ID: LVA7GUBKK6CA4CD8ZOE8MH2PV2UI
  • Story Text: Nearly a decade since the invasion of Iraq, Britain faces fresh allegations of abuse inflicted on prisoners and civilians in the Arab country between 2003 and 2008.
    At the High Court in London on Tuesday (January 29) human rights lawyers representing the alleged Iraqi victims claim the abuse was "systemic".
    They are calling for a public inquiry.
    During the three day hearing, lawyers representing 192 Iraqi's, will present testimonies accusing British soldiers and intelligence officers of illegal interrogation practices, some of which recall the humiliations carried out by U.S. soldiers on Iraqi detainees at Abu Ghraib prison.

    "These are troubling state practices, systemic issues with the root cause high up in the chain of command. Who in the government or civil service knew, or should have known? Who authorised all of this? How many Iraqis did we actually kill in UK military facilities?" Phil Shiner, lead counsel from Public Interest Lawyers told reporters outside the court.
    The alleged abuses include beatings, sleep and sensory deprivation, mock executions, forced nakedness and sexual abuse.
    In some cases, the torture allegedly led to the death of the detainee, lawyers will claim.

    "The practices and the techniques that my clients complain of bear a startling resemblance to what we know about Abu Ghraib. It's no surprise, because we went into Iraq with the U.S., our interrogation facility in the desert was a joint U.S.-UK facility. So in a way it is like Britain's Abu Ghraib," said Shiner.
    The statements, hundreds more are yet to come, were gathered during meetings with victims and relatives, mostly in Lebanon, by Public Interest Lawyers. They were unable to get visas for the Iraqi claimants to attend the court hearing.
    The court will rule on whether the alleged abuses were isolated and unknown to commanders, politicians and senior Ministry of Defence officials or whether they were authorised as policy.
    Shiner said some of the abusive interrogation techniques had been taught at an army intelligence facility.
    He said the sheer volume of the evidence he had gathered showed that the abuse was "systemic," and that a full independent inquiry is needed.

    "It's important because it sends a message to the rest of the world, that actually we are a democracy and ultimately we will, I hope, follow the law, and deal with this, and make the necessary reforms and we can all move on," Shiner said.
    The allegations were made against British troops in the wake of the killing of Baha Mousa, a hotel receptionist who died in 2003 in the town of Basra while in British custody. Mousa, a 26-year-old father of two, had 93 visible injuries on his body, including broken ribs and a fractured nose.
    A three-year public inquiry into Mousa's death concluded that he had died from the injuries, sustained during repeated assaults.
    Seven soldiers were charged for the war crime but six of those were acquitted or had their charges dropped.
    The Ministry of Defence has maintained that issues around interrogation and detention during the Iraq War were dealt with at the inquiry into Mousa's death, and through continuing internal investigations by its own Iraq Historic Allegations Team.
    In January 2005, at a British court martial hearing held in Germany, photographs were released by prosecutors of alleged prisoner abuse, sparking condemnation of the British military. Three British soldiers were convicted of abuse and sent to military prison.
    Britain, the second largest contributor of troops to the Iraq war behind the United States, has so far paid out about 14 million pounds (22 million dollars) to over 200 Iraqis to settle claims of abuse by British troops.
    The High Court case judges are expected to take around a month to consider their ruling over the need for a public inquiry.
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