A Very British Killing: The Death of Baha Mousa

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The nation places its trust in us and we expect our soldiers’ conduct to reflect that trust, no matter how challenging the environment may be. I would like to take this opportunity to repeat that apology today, in particular to Colonel Mousa, Baha Mousa’s father, and to his family. Colonel Mousa has participated fully in this inquiry and he has conducted himself with great dignity throughout.

Singh said: "It is perhaps a terrible glimpse that we have seen at this inquiry of what human beings are capable of, an insight into our heart of darkness." November 2009: Payne tells the inquiry Mendonca was "trigger happy" in Iraq and claims he witnessed another Army officer pretending to set one of the prisoners on fire. Devika Bhat; Jenny Booth (September 19, 2006). "British soldier is first to admit war crime". Times Online. London . Retrieved 2006-09-23. Video evidence of some of the interrogations conducted by a shadowy military intelligence unit called the Joint Forward Interrogation Team (JFIT) supports allegations that detainees were starved, deprived of sleep, subjected to sensory deprivation and threatened with execution. Former JFIT detainees and their lawyers believe the British military doctors were examining prisoners before interrogation to establish that they would survive the ordeal ahead.These are international obligations. This is what we demand of others, but we do not demand it of ourselves. What kind of message does that give to the world about who we are?" This is the crucial moment of decision," says Professor Andrew Williams, author of a book on the most infamous single case to date, the torture to death in custody of an innocent hotel receptionist, Baha Mousa. "This is our last chance to get to the truth and find out what went on. It's the last chance to see who is responsible." He also heard how the Ministry of Defence's top legal advisers failed to seek the advice of Lord Goldsmith, the attorney general, who was known to take the view that British troops in Iraq were bound by the Human Rights Act.

Human rights groups and lawyers representing former prisoners are pushing for a public inquiry into British detention and interrogation practices in Iraq, which would trace responsibility for the abuse up the military chain of command and beyond, and shed light on the role played by military physicians. There is also unlawful use of lethal force – using illegal rules of engagement after the wartime phase has ended. "The rules change during an occupation, but the practices did not, and a lot of people were killed. The judges are going to hear about a grandmother who was abused and a few hours later found in a body bag," Shiner says. In 1962, he married Penny Groves and the following year was called to the Bar. Appointed a QC in 1982, Gage developed a niche practice defending those accused of white-collar crime. His most successful case involved the 1989 acquittal of Kenneth Grob, a Lloyd’s underwriter, who faced 17 theft charges. A seventh, Corporal Donald Payne, who pleaded guilty, was jailed for a year and dismissed from the army. The court martial judge accused the soldiers of closing ranks, a charge Gage might echo. However, speaking exclusively to the Observer, Madden said Gage's criticism and the evidence unearthed by the retired appeal court judge during his 12-month inquiry were "mistaken".

The British government will argue in court that this apparent litany of abuse by troops it sent to "liberate" the Iraqis does not warrant a public inquiry, since it was not "systemic". A public inquiry, chaired by the retired Lord Justice of Appeal Sir William Gage, reported on 8 September 2011 after three years of investigation. [15] The report concluded British soldiers had subjected detainees to "serious, gratuitous violence". [16] Army training manuals failed to explain that the five interrogation techniques used had been banned by the British since 1972 and were also illegal under the Geneva Convention. [ citation needed] a b "BBC News - Q&A: Baha Mousa inquiry". BBC. 2011-09-08. Archived from the original on 2013-02-04 . Retrieved 2013-02-24. Last year seven soldiers faced a court martial lasting six months at Bulford camp in Wiltshire on war crimes charges relating to the death of Baha Mousa.

UK soldier jailed over Iraq abuse". BBC News. 30 April 2007. Archived from the original on 2007-09-15 . Retrieved 2007-04-30. On 14 September 2003 Mousa and other detainees were brought in for questioning after being arrested at the Ibn Al Haitham hotel in Basra in the early hours of the morning. The court also heard that British soliders used "conditioning" techniques to "soften up" Iraqi detainees. It revealed that army officers had ignored a 1972 ban on hooding, stressing, deprivation of food and sleep and coercive use of noise.

Baha Mousa was one of 10 Iraqis detained in Basra in September 2003 by members of the 1st Battalion The Queen Lancashire Regiment on suspicion of being an insurgent.