By IRNA
London : Human rights lawyers, acting in scores of Iraq abuse case, have accused a military inquiry of whitewashing the extent of mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners by British forces.
Public Interest Lawyers (PIL) criticised a report by Brigadier Robert Aitken, the director of Army personnel strategy, that admitted there were serious flaws in military training but denied there was any evidence of systematic abuse by UK troops.
His report Friday also claimed that allegations of abuse in Iraq have only been “tiny” and that “all but a handful of our people conducted ourselves to the highest standards of behaviour.” “The Aitken inquiry lacks any independence or rigor, is a complete red herring and represents a whitewash,” said Phil Shiner of PIL.
“There is the clearest evidence from the court martial into the death of (Basra hotel worker) Baha Mousa, and other emerging evidence, that systematic abuse by UK soldiers in Iraq was rife,” said Shiner.
PIL alone, he said, was acting in cases apparently involving “over 30 deaths in detention including executions,” by British troops in Iraq.
“It was Standard Operating Procedure to hood, stress and deprive detainees of sleep, water and food. Our clients have been subjected to torture, abuse and humiliation,” the lawyer said.
Attempting to draw a line under the reported abuses, Defence Secretary Des Browne said “the British public should be reassured that such behaviour is not representative of our thoroughly professional and disciplined armed forces.”
But Pil, which is seeking a judicial review to force the British government to hold an independent and public inquiry into the UK’s detention policy in Iraq, said the report was “completely irrelevant” to the question the High Court is due to shortly rule on.
The court must decide “whether the military justice system can satisfy the requirements that investigations into death and torture by the state be independent, effective, prompt and involve relatives,” Shiner said.
Martin Day, a lawyer for one of the Iraqi victims, also said he was “appalled that the defence secretary has seen fit to close ranks with the soldiers who committed these terrible atrocities.”