Baha Mousa report criticises 'cowardly and violent' British soldiers

[Turborama]

Source: The Guardian

Gage report cites 'loss of discipline and lack of moral courage' for death of Baha Mousa after 36 hours of detention in Basra

Richard Norton-Taylor and Owen Bowcott | Thursday September 8 2011 11.19 BST

British soldiers inflicted "violent and cowardly" assaults on Iraqi civilians subjecting them to "gratuitous" kickings and beatings, an inquiry into the death of the detainee Baha Mousa has found.

In a devastating indictment of military culture, the retired appeal court judge Sir William Gage ruled that there was widespread ignorance of what was permitted in handling prisoners of war.

Although he did not suggest there had been a policy of systematic abuse towards Iraqi suspects, he deplored the absence of any "proper MoD doctrine on interrogation".

The report at the end of the two-year inquiry contains savage criticisms of individual soldiers and officers as well as damning descriptions of poor internal communications, "loss of discipline and a lack of moral courage".

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/sep/08/baha-mousa-report-british-soldiers

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'I had my knee in his back. To control him': theatre tackles the Baha Mousa inquiry - Go behind the scenes at Richard Norton-Taylor's play, Tactical Questioning (video): http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/video/2011/jun/02/baha-mousa-inquiry-tactical-questioning-video

The Baha Mousa Public Inquiry: http://www.bahamousainquiry.org/

[Turborama]

1. Baha Mousa: innocent father who suffered brutal death in UK military custody

Baha Mousa, an innocent civilian, welcomed the British forces who occupied his hometown of Basra in April 2003, because their arrival signalled the overthrow of Saddam Hussein.

8:00AM BST 08 Sep 2011

But less than half a year later the 26 year-old father-of-two had suffered a brutal, humiliating death at the hands of a small number of British soldiers he saw as liberators.

=snip=

Mr Mousa's life was marked by hardship and tragedy before the turn of events that led to him being mistakenly arrested by British troops as a suspected insurgent.

Full Article: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/defence/8748790/Baha-Mousa-innocent-father-who-suffered-brutal-death-in-UK-military-custody.html

[dipsydoodle]

2. Full 1366 page report here

The Baha Mousa Public Inquiry.
http://www.bahamousainquiry.org/report/index.htm

Link derived from : http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-14825889

In a statement to the Commons, Defence Secretary Liam Fox said the Army had been guilty of systematic failures but he rejected one of the 73 recommendations of the inquiry's 1,366-page report - that soldiers should not be allowed to shout during interrogations.

He said such actions would only be used in future to "secure swiftly, in appropriate circumstances, the intelligence that can save lives".

Mr Fox added: "What happened to Baha Mousa and his fellow detainees in September 2003 was deplorable, shocking and shameful...

"It was avoidable and preventable, and there can be no excuses. There is no place in our armed forces for the mistreatment of detainees. And there is no place for a perverted sense of loyalty that turns a blind eye to wrongdoing or erects a wall of silence to cover it up."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-14825889

Baha Mousa inquiry: Death cast 'dark shadow' over Army

Sir William Gage's inquiry made uncomfortable reading for the Army, with its blow-by-blow account of the violent abuse suffered by Baha Mousa and the other Iraqi detainees in the custody of the 1st Battalion the Queen's Royal Lancashire Regiment in 2003.

Today, the head of the British Army, General Sir Peter Wall, said Mr Mousa's death had "cast a dark shadow" over the Army's reputation and soldiers were now in no doubt about the need to treat detainees humanely and respectfully.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-14835527



And later Sky News twitter :
Sky Sources: Any serving officers mentioned in Iraq abuse inquiry could be suspended today.
http://twitter.com/#!/SkyNewsBreak/status/111772384889020417

On live tv news coverage here that's been changed to "WILL be suspended today"