British soldiers accused of beating Basra man to death

Iraqi families sue MoD over alleged killings

Richard Norton-Taylor, David Pallister and Steven Morris

The Red Cross last year expressed concern to British commanders about the treatment of prisoners held in southern Iraq, it was revealed yesterday.

The disclosure was made by Pierre Kraehenbuehl, director of operations for the International Committee of the Red Cross, after the Wall Street Journal published a leaked copy of a confidential report drawn up by the ICRC last year.

It concentrated mainly on prisoners held by the US, but Mr Kraehenbuehl said yesterday that there were problems with detainees held by the British. He would not go into details because the ICRC report to the British authorities has not been made public.

Sir Menzies Campbell, the Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesman, said: "If the Red Cross did in fact warn the British government about the risks to Iraqi prisoners we are entitled to know what action was taken and by whom."

The Red Cross report sent to the US includes an incident in Basra which almost certainly refers to the death in British custody of a hotel receptionist, Baha Mousa, last September.

The case is one of several to be heard before a high court judge on Tuesday, when lawyers for the families of Iraqis allegedly killed by UK troops will say the Ministry of Defence must accept legal liability.

A reservist with the Queen’s Lancashire Regiment known only as Soldier C, who allegedly witnessed the incident, gave evidence to the military police special investigation branch in London on Thursday.

Mr Mousa, 26, was allegedly beaten to death by members of the Queen’s Lancashire Regiment. His father, Daoud, a colonel in the Basra police force, has lodged a statement to the high court and his son’s death certificate, which states the cause as "cardio-respiratory arrest: asphyxia".

An Iraqi who survived the incident, Kifah Taha al-Mutari, alleges in a witness statement that he and others were "beaten, hooded, and our hands were wired".

Soldier C has told the Daily Mirror he saw four "beatings" carried out by members of the Queen’s Lancashire Regiment.

He alleged that three ringleaders carried out the violence and estimated there were around 100 rogue troops among the British soldiers.

Soldier C claimed the violence mainly took place during "tactical questioning" at the QLR’s base in a former Ba’ath party headquarters in Basra.

Soldier C’s testimony may help save the job of the Mirror editor, Piers Morgan, if it turns out that the "torture" pictures are faked. He has argued that the allegations rather than the pictures are the story.

http://politics.guardian.co.uk/iraq/story/0,12956,1212234,00.html