British military intelligence 'ran renegade torture unit in Iraq'

Some interesting information coming out of the inquiry into the death of Baha Mousa.

Fresh evidence has emerged that British military intelligence ran a secret operation in Iraq which authorised degrading and unlawful treatment of prisoners. Documents reveal that prisoners were kept hooded for long periods in intense heat and deprived of sleep by defence intelligence officers. They also reveal that officers running the operation claimed to be answerable only "directly to London".

The latest documents emerged during the inquiry into Baha Mousa, an Iraqi hotel worker beaten to death while in the custody of British troops in September 2003. The inquiry is looking into how interrogation techniques banned by the Government in 1972 and considered torture and degrading treatment were used again in Iraq.

www.independent.co.uk...

Lets get this into perspective. The torture does not appear to be at the extreme level of torture i.e. waterboarding, electric shock, mutilation. However it does appear that this unit was given carte blance from London to operate independently in a manner they saw fit to extract information from prisoners taken in Iraq.

Could this kind of unit and operation allude to other more serious illegal activities authorised by the British military?.

Was what this unit appears to have carried out acceptable to you in a time of conflict?.

Is there anyone from the British military on this board aware of this kind of unit and how they operate?.

Other links to the story.

timesofindia.indiatimes.com...
sify.com...

Link to the thread on the inquiry on the death of Baha Mousa.
www.abovetopsecret.com...

[edit on 21-3-2010 by Peruvianmonk]

The British administration under Heath banned these enhanced interogration practices back in 1972.

news.bbc.co.uk...

MOD response to the allegations raised by a Panorama investigation of 2008 into claims of British torture in Iraq.
news.bbc.co.uk...



[edit on 21-3-2010 by Peruvianmonk]

What do people think of these kind of activities by the British Army?

Is it acceptable in the course of conflict? Or is this going to far and illegal in both British and International Law.

We invaded Iraq on very dodgey pretences and then 'tortured' some of their citizens, how can that be right?

Originally posted by Peruvianmonk
Lets get this into perspective. The torture does not appear to be at the extreme level of torture i.e. waterboarding, electric shock, mutilation.

I can not speak from experience but I am willing to bet all I have that the hotel worker who was beaten to death would say it was plenty extreme.

reply to post by K J Gunderson


Yes i agree. What happened to Baha Mousa was murder and torture. Simple.

I was referring to the evidence given about the operations of the Joint Forward Interrogation Team (JFIT). They were not involved in his death. However they employed 'enhanced interogation techniques', in their time in Iraq.

In fact, prisoners were kept hooded for long periods in intense heat and deprived of sleep by military intelligence officers who were answerable only "directly to London", the Independent reported, citing documents.

timesofindia.indiatimes.com...



[edit on 21-3-2010 by Peruvianmonk]