BAHA MOUSA died as a result of ‘appalling and gratuitous violence’ by members of the British Army, the year-long Public Inquiry into his death reported yesterday.
The Inquiry’s chairman, Sir William Gage, blamed ‘corporate failure’ at the Ministry of Defence for the ‘grave and shameful events’ surrounding his death.
Baha Mousa, a 26-year-old father of two, died in Basra in British Army custody, with 93 injuries on his body, two days after his arrest, in 2003.
He and nine other Iraqis were arrested at the Haitham Hotel in Basra on 14 September 2003 by members of the 1st Battalion, The Queen’s Lancashire Regiment (1QLR).
Gage said a ‘large number’ of soldiers assaulted Baha Mousa and the other detainees, and added that many others – including several officers – must have known what was happening.
At a London press conference yesterday, lawyer for Baha Mousa’s family, Phil Shiner, of Public Interest Lawyers, said: ‘Sir William Gage’s report provides us all with a chronicle of what he himself describes as “grave and shameful events”.
‘At the heart of this is the death of Baha Mousa.
‘Sir William makes it clear that this cannot be explained away as being simply the act of a few rogue soldiers.
‘His report provides a detailed analysis of how hooding, stress position, sleep deprivation, noise disorientation and minimal food and water ultimately contributed to Baha dying in British custody.
‘These techniques were explicitly banned by Edward Heath in 1972 and were found to be unlawful, but were being used on a systemic basis by the 1st Battalion, Queen’s Lancashire Regiment in Iraq in 2003 to force suspects to provide information.
‘It is important to record that what we know now has not automatically come about because our political and military leaders were committed to pursuing truth and justice from the outset.
‘The prize of this inquiry – which will contribute to the betterment of our armed services as much as it gives some justice to our clients – was only the result of legal action that was vigorously resisted by the MoD at every stage.’
Shiner condemned the actions of the Ministry of Defence in particular, saying: ‘The MoD are a disgraceful outfit.
‘Whether one is a British soldier or an innocent Iraqi civilian, they just don’t care and they are proud not to care.’
Shiner denounced the MoD for so-called ‘leaks’ last week which claimed that Gage’s report was going to exonerate the Army and say there is no ‘systemic’ blame.
Shiner said: ‘The first thing to emphasise is that the suggestion in the press before the report was published, that Sir William would find no systemic responsibility for these events, was completely wrong.
‘And it was typical of the shameful approach taken by the MoD over the last eight years to these extremely serious matters.
‘Sir William finds that a whole catalogue of systemic deficiencies both before and during the occupation of Iraq contributed to these events.’
Gage found that two officers, Lt Craig Rodgers and Maj Michael Peebles, had known that the detainees were being subjected to serious assaults by more junior soldiers.
Sapna Malik, Baha Mousa lawyer from Leigh Day and Co, said: ‘The acquittal of the soldiers by the court martial, that is Mendonca, Peebles, Davies, Stacey, Fallon, and Crowcroft, is a profound injustice, as is the acquittal of Donald Payne of the manslaughter charge.
‘In light of the cogent and serious findings by Sir William Gage, we now expect that the military and civilian prosecuting authorities of this country will act to ensure that justice is done.’