Brits examine 33 alledged torture cases by British Troops against Iraqis

[Syt]

Iraqi 'was beaten and sexually abused'

British soldiers forced an Iraqi detainee to wear an orange jump suit and told him that he was to be executed at Guantanamo Bay, according to new torture allegations being investigated by the Ministry of Defence.

The 23-year-old man claims he was beaten and sexually abused by female and male soldiers and then flown to a British detention centre in southern Iraq which he believed was the infamous US naval base.

The case is one of 33 claims being investigated by the Government which raise concerns that British soldiers and interrogators may have used torture techniques developed by the Americans. Other claims made to the Ministry of Defence include rape, electrocution and sexual humiliation similar to that employed by the Americans in Abu Ghraib jail.

Adil Abba Fadhil Mohamed was a security guard employed to patrol streets of the southern Iraqi town of Amara. On 25 March 2006 he claims he was arrested by four soldiers who forced him to the ground and kicked him and beat him using rifle butts. He also alleges that he was beaten again while travelling in a British army vehicle and again in a helicopter.

On arrival at a British base in southern Iraq he says he was forced to adopt a stress position and every time he moved, he was beaten and kicked by British soldiers.

Later Mr Mohamed says he was dragged to a room where his weight and height were measured, and his saliva and fingerprints were taken. He claims he was beaten once again. He says he was feeling dizzy and could no longer stand. He was dragged to another tent, where he was abused by an Army interrogator who informed him that he would "fuck" him, his mother and his sister. Every time Mr Mohamed failed to respond he claims a female soldier punched him in the face.

Mr Mohamed was taken to another room and says he was forced to stand on a wobbly table with his handcuffs tied to a hook on the ceiling. He could only just reach the table with his toes, the table fell to one side and he was left hanging by his handcuffs, he says.

Mr Mohamed says he was taken to a room where he was asked to remove his clothes. According to his lawyer's pre-action protocol letter received by the Ministry of Defence, he says "a female soldier then approached him and pulled his penis with force. This continued for 15 minutes." All the time soldiers were laughing and taking photographs.

The soldiers allegedly told Mr Mohamed that because he was a terrorist he was to be flown to Guantanamo detention centre. When the helicopter landed, he was dragged out and forced to wear an orange suit.

"After being dragged down the corridor the hood was taken off," he says in his statement. "I was given a dark orange prisoners outfit to wear... [which] is worn by those who will be executed. I started screaming."

Mr Mohamed was then taken down a corridor to a small cell which he says "resembled a cage".

"I thought I might be in Guantanamo... but I have no idea how far it is from Iraq. I have heard if I went there I would not see anyone again."

After an hour he was forced to change into the blue detainee's outfit and taken to another helicopter. Mr Mohamed was told he would be released in eight hours. But instead He was beaten and kicked again by soldiers and after a few hours he was dragged to an aircraft, where a rifle was pointed at him. Mr Mohamed thought he was going to be executed.

A car was driven into him, which caused him to fall to the floor. He was picked up by two soldiers and put on the aircraft. On arrival, he was told that the governor of Amara had requested his release. Tessa Gregory, one of the solicitors representing the 33 former Iraq detainees, said: "These further disturbing allegations... point to the systematic abuse of Iraqi civilians by the British military. In the face of some of this compelling testimony the Government must investigate all these claims and should call an independent inquiry into the UK's detention policy and practice in Iraq."

The Ministry of Defence says that it takes all the abuse allegations seriously but that while the cases were being investigated they remained unproven.

Also:
British soldiers sexually abused us, claim Iraqis

Disturbing graphic allegations of sexual and physical abuse of Iraqi civilians by British soldiers are among 33 new torture cases being investigated by the Ministry of Defence (MoD).

The fresh claims include allegations that female and male soldiers sexually abused and humiliated detainees in camps in southern Iraq, prompting comparisons with the torture practices employed by US soldiers at the notorious Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad.

In one case, British soldiers are accused of piling Iraqi prisoners on top of each other and subjecting them to electric shocks, an echo of the abuse at the notorious US detention centre that came to light in 2004.

Lawyers and human rights groups warned yesterday that the British Army may face hundreds of claims of sexual and physical abuse after it was revealed the MoD was investigating the 33 cases.

Phil Shiner, the lawyer representing all the former detainees, is asking for a judicial review of the cases and a wider public inquiry. "I have it on good authority that there are hundreds of cases that are going uninvestigated. My guess is that many of them will remain buried."

The former Liberal Democrat leader Sir Menzies Campbell, a member of the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Select Committee, said: "This is yet another element of the long, toxic legacy of Iraq. Only the fullest investigation will suffice."

The armed forces minister Bill Rammell said that "formal investigations" must be carried out "without judgements being made prematurely". The vast majority of British troops "conducted themselves to the highest standards of behaviour", he said, and that only a tiny number had fallen short of this standard. "Allegations of this nature are taken very seriously; however, allegations must not be taken as fact and formal investigations must be allowed to take their course without judgements being made prematurely," he said.

Pressure on the MoD is expected to intensify tomorrow at the Baha Mousa inquiry, which is hearing evidence into the death of an Iraqi father beaten to death by British troops in 2003. Former corporal Donald Payne, the only soldier convicted for the death, will give evidence. The inquiry has already been told Payne was a scapegoat and that others had been involved.

The 33 new cases include allegations of controversial techniques widely used by the Americans, including mock executions, dog attacks and exposure to pornography.

Hussain Hashim Khinyab, 35, a father-of-three, was arrested in April 2006. He claims he was badly tortured at the British camp at Shaibah and later sexually abused by female personnel. He alleges he saw male and female soldiers engaging in sexual intercourse in front of the prisoners in order to deliberately humiliate them.

The abuse continued in the camp hospital after he was allegedly given an overdose of medicine. Mr Khinyab said: "A nurse called 'K' used to expose herself and make love to other soldiers in front of us.

"Once she administered to me 15 tablets when I complained about my stomach. She asked me to swallow them all at once."

He said his health deteriorated rapidly and he was detained overnight. "While in the clinic, 'K' stripped completely naked and tried to have sex with me. I was so shocked and disgusted,

"I pleaded with her not to do that, she even tried to use what I thought was anaesthetic to make me sleep. I started shouting. Then she dressed quickly and pleaded with me not to tell the duty doctor who came to see what was the matter."

"I was told the dose that was given to me was the reason for my condition and the nurse would be transferred somewhere else as a punishment. I was told that half of my heart had stopped working and they had resuscitated it using electric shocks.

"I still suffer from my stomach ulcer which is preventing me from even fasting in the month of Ramadan."

Mr Khinyab was later transferred to Basra airport detention centre where he claims the abuse continued.

"It started with tearing of our copies of the Koran in front of us. Beating, kicking and punching accompanied us all the way."

Mazin Younis, the Iraqi human rights campaigner who compiled the allegations, said many alleged victims waited years before coming forward because they were afraid of what would happen if they complained.

[Admiral Yi]

Those female soldiers and nurses are really willing to go the extra mile for a succesful interogation.

[garbon]

Those female soldiers and nurses are really willing to go the extra mile for a succesful interogation.