British inquiry shown graphic evidence of Iraq torture
2013 03 05
By Estelle Shirbon | Reuters
A public inquiry in London into allegations that British soldiers killed, mutilated and tortured Iraqi detainees after a battle in southern Iraq was shown gruesome photographs of bloodied corpses on Monday.
The Al-Sweady Inquiry, ordered by the British government in 2009 to get to the bottom of disputed events in the aftermath of the battle of Danny Boy on May 14, 2004, began oral hearings after three years of exhaustive detective work.
The allegations are that soldiers captured a number of Iraqis during fighting near the Danny Boy checkpoint, about 5 km (three miles) from the town of Majar al-Kabir, and took them to the Camp Abu Naji base, where some were murdered and others tortured.
The military denies any unlawful killings or ill-treatment in the aftermath of the battle.
A decade after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, the issues of why the British military got involved and how the war was conducted are still hotly debated in Britain.
The Al-Sweady Inquiry, which has already cost 15 million pounds ($22.5 million) in its pre-hearings phase, is likely to embarrass the military and stir up the public debate.
On the first morning of hearings, the inquiry heard a summary of the death certificates of more than 20 people whose bodies were handed over to the local population near the gates of Camp Abu Naji on May 15, 2004.
According to the certificates, three of the bodies bore signs of torture including missing eyes, a missing penis and crushed bones.
The inquiry was then shown graphic photographs of dead bodies with bloody wounds. One of them showed a man with a metal watch around his wrist and his hand missing. Several were almost completely disfigured.
[...]
Al-Sweady is the second major British public inquiry into military conduct in Iraq.
The first, into the death of 26-year-old hotel receptionist Baha Mousa in British custody in Basra in 2003, reported in 2011 that he had died after suffering "an appalling episode of serious gratuitous violence" at the hands of British troops.
Read the full article at: reuters.com
Related Articles
Al-Sweady inquiry: Iraqi detainees ’were kicked, punched, handcuffed and blindfolded by soldiers’
Al-Sweady Public Inquiry
Globalizing Torture: 54 countries helped CIA to kidnap, detain & torture
Latest News from our Front Page
|
IRS Scandal - "This is Tyrannical"
2013 05 23
The IRS’s Job Is To Violate Our Liberties
By Ron Paul | the-free-foundation.org
“What do you expect when you target the President?” This is what an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) agent allegedly said to the head of a conservative organization that was being audited after calling for the impeachment of then-President Clinton. Recent revelations that IRS agents gave “special scrutiny” to organizations ... |
EU Leaders to Sidestep Lisbon Treaty Rule
2013 05 22
The Lisbon Treaty clearly intends for the size of the European Commission to be reduced below its present size of 27 members. But EU leaders have reached unanimous agreement to sidestep the provision -- and even plan to add a seat to the table for the Croatians.
From the outside, it looks as though the European Union is hopelessly divided. Northern ... |
The Soviet Story
2013 05 22
The Soviet Story is a 2008 documentary film about Soviet Communism and Soviet–German collaboration before 1941 written and directed by Edvīns Šnore and sponsored by the UEN Group in the European Parliament.
The film features interviews with western and Russian historians such as Norman Davies and Boris Sokolov, Russian writer Viktor Suvorov, Soviet dissident Vladimir Bukovsky, members of the European Parliament ... |
Inferno Author Dan Brown ’Honoured’ to be Invited to Join Freemasons
2013 05 22
The Freemasons’ Code: Dan Brown reveals the message that told him the door to the lodge is open.
His best-selling novels illuminate the shadowy organisations that supposedly run the world. But Dan Brown was “honoured” to receive an invitation to join the Freemasons, the arcane fraternity whose tentacles are said to extend into the highest echelons of power.
Tonight the Da Vinci ... |
New EU law that could ban all seeds
2013 05 22
Seed lovers, growers and local producers could all be harmed under the proposed Regulation on Marketing of Plant Reproductive Material by the EU. Sign this petition and email the decision makers to stop this happening.
A New Seed Law will go before the EU commissioners on May 6th 2013.
The Regulation on Marketing of Plant Reproductive Material law will mean no ... |
| More News » |
|
|
|
|
