MoD sued over ‘36 hours of hell’ in Basra

[sabra]

Source: Sunday TimesOnline

Iraqi prisoners held by British troops at a detention centre in Basra were forced to dance “like Michael Jackson” during 36 hours of alleged beatings and sleep-deprivation, according to a High Court writ against the Ministry of Defence.

Nine Iraqi civilians were victims of a competition between several British soldiers to see who could kick the prisoners the hardest, it is also claimed.

Baha Musa, one of the nine detainees, died later and was found to have 93 separate injuries.

Permission for details of the writ, first served in June, to be made public was given by the High Court yesterday.

...

Five members of The Queen’s Lancashire Regiment, including Colonel Jorge Mendonca, the former commanding officer, and two from the Intelligence Corps, were charged in connection with the death of Mr Musa, a hotel receptionist. He was arrested with other Iraqis, during an arms search by a British platoon.

All were acquitted at a court martial in February except for Corporal Donald Payne of The Queen’s Lancashire Regiment. He pleaded guilty to the war crime of inhuman treatment of Iraqi prisoners and was sentenced to 12 months in prison and dismissed from the Army.

Read more: http://timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/iraq/article2879821.ece

[Orsino]

1. And the sun sets on a little more of the Empire. n/t