British soldiers ran across my back, claims Iraqi man suing MoD
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Version 0 of 1. An Iraqi man suing the Ministry of Defence for abuse has told the high court in London that British soldiers beat him and walked on his back after detaining him. The man, whose identity cannot currently be revealed for legal reasons, was detained at his family’s home in Basra weeks after the invasion of Iraq in 2003. In a witness statement, he said that the rest of his family had fled while he remained behind to protect their home. He said soldiers had burst into his house during the night, taking him first to a holding centre, then to a more formal detention centre, as they rounded up men they believed were Iraqi soldiers who had taken off their uniforms. The claimant told the court that conditions at the first detention centre, al-Seeba, were very poor, with people held in the open air. “The soldiers did not provide us with a sleeping mat or a blanket,” he said. “I lay on the ground but I could not sleep, as I was anxious and fearful of what was going to happen to me. At night the weather got cold and I was shivering, but I was too scared to ask for a blanket.” In the four or five days he was held at al-Seeba, he said he was fed only once. On two occasions, he added, the detainees were ordered to lie on their stomachs as soldiers ran over their backs, while others filmed or took photographs and laughed. “When the soldiers ran over my back, they dug their military boots into my back and I felt a throbbing pain afterwards,” he said. Speaking through an interpreter, the man described feeling “humiliated”. “They were laughing at us,” he said. A relative, who also cannot be named, appeared as a witness and told the court that he was arrested at the same time and experienced the same treatment. Under cross-examination, the claimant was asked by Derek Sweeting QC how he could have been certain that he was being held by British forces. At the time of the invasion, Sweeting pointed out, he had “never seen British or American soldiers before” and was not familiar with their vehicles, weapons or uniforms. “I only know their flags, particularly the British flag,” the claimant replied. Asked to describe the flag, he said that it was orange or possibly red, with a cross shape. He said he had wanted to complain about his treatment before now, but during the war accessing the British base in Basra was dangerous. “We couldn’t go and complain to the British forces because the Mahdi army [an insurgent force] was there already, so anyone who went to see the British forces would be considered a collaborator by the Mahdi army,” he said. He had never told anybody what happened to him in detention, the man said, until he was told in 2013 that there was now the possibility of bringing claims against the British government. At that point he made his case known locally, and later gave statements to solicitors from Leigh Day, the firm that is bringing the case, in Istanbul and Lebanon. The hearing is one of two test cases being heard at the high court that could open the way for further claims of abuse against the British army dating from the Iraq war. Last month, the supreme court dismissed claims by 600 Iraqis in cases against the government on the grounds that they were being brought too late. The court’s justices unanimously ruled that the applications for compensation were time-barred under article 232 of the Iraqi civil code. The test cases will examine whether there is a lawful argument for bringing claims beyond the time limits. If the cases are successful, it could pave the way for more claims from former detainees against the MoD. The case is ongoing. |