British troops 'tortured' Iraqis: report

[Robbien]

Iraqis were "tortured" by British troops who killed some 20 in fighting at Al-Majar al-Kebir in the south of the country on May 14, The Guardian newspaper reported today, citing death certificates drawn up by the town's hospital. Of 22 certificates issued by hospital director Adel Salid Majid, a copy of which was obtained by the newspaper, seven reported signs of "mutilation" and "torture".

The daily gave details of the cases:

Ahmad al Helfi, a 19-year-old casual labourer, is described as having "several bullet injuries to the body, with blueness of the left eye and a cut-wound by a sharp tool on the right arm. In addition, there are signs of beating and torturing all over the body".

Haider al Lami, 21, also a casual labourer, had "several bullet injuries to the body, with mutilation of genitalia". His penis had been "severed".

Hamed al Suadi, 19, is recorded as having "bullet wounds to the neck and the foot. There are signs of torture: the right arm is fractured and there is full distortion of the face".

Another, Ali al Jemindari, 37, had "several bullet injuries in head, face and the body, with slash marks on the neck. The right arm has been severed at the shoulder. There is a large opening in the right cheek and the removal by gouging of the right eye."

Dr Majid told The Guardian: "On May 15, the police came and asked us to send ambulances to the British base to collect some bodies. When they brought the 22 bodies, it was a surprise to us to see some of these bodies mutilated and tortured.

http://afr.com/articles/2004/06/21/1087669892664.html

and of course there is another doctor in the article that states these wounds are not torture

[struggle4progress]

1. Rot spreads.

IRAQ: Australian military lawyer helped conceal torture
In the US, leaked documents obtained by the Wall Street Journal and Newsweek have revealed that a post-9/11 policy of torture was approved at the highest levels of government — signed off on by Attorney-General John Ashcroft, defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and President George Bush.

In Britain, a handful of soldiers are facing charges over abusing Iraqi civilians they detained. Like the scandal embroiling the US guards at Abu Ghraib, the charges against the British troops include sexual abuse of prisoners.

In Australia, the federal Coalition government has tried, unsuccessfully, to wash its hands of the scandal. While there is no public evidence Australian soldiers had a direct hand in the torture of Iraqi prisoners, there is considerable evidence that the government knew of the abuse of prisoners in Iraqi jails, including Abu Ghraib. Prime Minister John Howard's government is clearly morally and legally responsible for the violence of the occupation regime of which Australia is part.

On June 16, defence minister Senator Robert Hill finally acknowledged the extensive opportunities the government had to find out about what its US partners were up to at Abu Ghraib. There were 25 reports on the abuse of Iraqi prisoners sent to the defence department in Canberra. Yet Hill and Howard still maintain that they only inadvertently misled the Australian public when they claimed that no Australians were aware of the torture of Iraqi prisoners until the scandal broke in the US mass media.
<more>

http://www.greenleft.org.au/back/2004/586/586p12b.htm