Sunday July 6, 2008



Iraqi civilians who were tortured by British soldiers say the government is treating them with 'contempt' ahead of a potential multi-million-pound payout for the abuse they suffered.



The eight Iraqis arrived in London yesterday for this week's long-awaited mediation into how much compensation the government is willing to pay to civilians who were tortured while held in British custody. The eight accused the Ministry of Defence last night of trying to block them from attending the high-profile meeting.



The Iraqis will meet MoD lawyers on Wednesday inside the Treasury for negotiations presided over by the former Lord Chief Justice, Lord Woolf, to determine a settlement which will include compensation for the death of Baha Musa.



The 26-year-old receptionist had suffered 93 identifiable injuries at the hands of British soldiers in Basra in September 2003. He had died after being subjected to 36 hours of beatings and abusive treatment, including being double-hooded with hessian sacks in stifling conditions.



Musa's father, Dawood, a colonel in the Iraqi police force who had struggled for weeks to get a UK entry visa, was among the group that arrived in London yesterday. He said that the behaviour of the government in the five years since his son was killed had convinced him that the MoD viewed Iraqi lives as 'cheap'.



Maithem al-Waz, who had been abused alongside Musa, accused the government yesterday of not helping the group to obtain UK visas to attend the high-profile hearing. 'It took so long, from May until today, to get the visa,' Waz said. 'Although the MoD agreed to the mediation they gave no co-operation - we have struggled for two months to get our visas. I feel that they don't want to co-operate. We are so disappointed by the way they have acted.'



He also voiced serious concerns over the treatment of himself and other witnesses at the 2006 court martial of seven soldiers charged with the killing of Musa. 'At the court martial they put us in military camps, it felt as if we were in detention, they treated us very badly, the military shouted at us if we were just two minutes late. They wouldn't allow us to leave the camp and said they would put us in prison if we left,' he said. 'At the court martial itself, we didn't feel free to talk; we weren't given enough time or freedom to express what we wanted to say. When they asked us questions at the court martial - [they] were so vague and unclear we didn't always understand . If we get the same treatment at the mediation as we did at the court martial we will be very disappointed.' Despite admitting liability over Musa's death and the abuse of other detainees, the MoD is understood to have not accepted the psychological assessments detailing the trauma of those abused. It is also contesting elements of the beatings and hoodings British troops inflicted. Leigh Day, the law firm acting for the Iraqis, said the claimants were seeking 'exemplary and aggravated damages' from the MoD.



Following the court martial, only Corporal Donald Payne, of The Queen's Lancashire Regiment (now renamed Duke of Lancaster's Regiment), was convicted of inhumane treatment of a prisoner. However, The Observer has learnt that Payne has now been released from prison and is living with his family in the north of England after setting up his own business. Legal sources said he is furious with his treatment by the army and feels he was made a 'scapegoat'.



General Sir Richard Dannatt, the chief of the general staff, recently announced a public inquiry into the death of Musa. Dannatt said that it was still possible that some soldiers or officers might face disciplinary punishment if their conduct proved below the required standard. After a three-year investigation into the incident the MoD admitted last April that the Iraqis were ill-treated.



An MoD spokesman said they would not comment until the mediation had been concluded, most likely on Thursday.









