AN IRAQI hotel worker who died in British army custody in Basra in 2003 was savagely beaten and hooded by soldiers, a major inquiry has ruled, accusing the soldiers of “appalling” conduct and commanders of covering up.
Baha Mousa, who was held in a raid by soldiers in September 2003 after a cache of arms and uniforms was found in his workplace, died after he had been held in “appalling heat”, suffering from 93 injuries including a broken nose and fractured ribs.
In a devastatingly harsh report, inquiry head Sir William Gage said the British army had seemingly forgotten a 1972 order banning harsh interrogation by then prime minister Edward Heath issued after suspected IRA members had been routinely maltreated.
This order banned hooding, use of white background noise, sleep deprivation, wall-standing and a limited diet – the so-called “five techniques”, all of which were used by soldiers from the Queen’s Lancashire Regiment against Mr Mousa, the inquiry found.
Evidence given during the three-year inquiry showed Mr Heath’s statement “became largely forgotten”, and had “mainly faded from policy and training materials”, leaving some in doubt about whether the five techniques could be used in “full warfare”.
British prime minister David Cameron condemned the soldiers’ conduct: “It is clearly a truly shocking and appalling incident. This should not have happened. It should never be allowed to happen again. The British army, as it does, should uphold the highest standards. We should take every step possible to make sure this never happens again. If there is further evidence that comes out of this inquiry that requires action to be taken, it should be taken. Britain does not cover these things up, we do not sweep them under the carpet. We deal with it,” he said.
A former commanding officer of the 1st Battalion the Queen’s Lancashire Regiment, Col Jorge Mendonca, bears “a heavy responsibility” for Mr Mousa’s death, while a Catholic chaplain, Fr Peter Madden, was condemned as “a poor witness”, the inquiry said.
“He must have seen the shocking condition of the detainees, and the deteriorating state of the . He ought to have intervened immediately, or reported it up the chain of command but, in fact, it seems he did not have the courage to do either,” said Mr Gage witheringly.
Defence secretary Liam Fox described the affair as “deplorable, shocking and shameful”, saying: “Baha Mousa was not a casualty of war. His death was avoidable. There is no place for a perverted sense of loyalty that turns a blind eye to wrongdoing.”
One soldier, Cpl Donald Payne, violently assaulted Mr Mousa minutes before he died, punching and possibly kicking him, while restraining him in a fashion that was “a contributory cause” of his death. Cpl Payne, who has since left the army, was described as “a violent bully” who inflicted “a dreadful catalogue of unjustified and brutal violence” on the Iraqi and the others arrested in the raid.
