- THIRTY cases of torture and
murder by British and American troops against Iraqi POWs are being investigated
by defence chiefs.
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- The probe will examine photos of members of the Queen's
Lancashire Regiment, who appear to be urinating on a terrified Iraq captive.
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- The dossier of terror includes :
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- Claims that POWs were thrown to their deaths from a bridge.
A videotape of the killings is said to have been destroyed.
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- The drowning of 16-year-old Ahmad Jabbar Kareem, who
was allegedly forced into a canal by British soldiers near Basra.
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- The deaths of two men detained by the Black Watch near
Basra a year ago. Abd al-Jabbar Mossa, 53, and Rathy Namma are both said
to have suffered heart failure. Mossa's family claim he was hit on the
head.
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- Weeks after the torture photographs were taken, a prisoner
was allegedly beaten to death by members of the same Queen's Lancashire
Regiment.
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- An MOD spokeswoman said yesterday's bombshell allegations
which followed pictures of US troops abusing inmates in Iraq's Abu Ghraib
prison are being investigated by the Royal Military Police.
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- She said: 'They are trying to speak to as many people
as possible and build up as big a picture as possible.
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- 'If there is found to be evidence of criminal behaviour
it will be passed to the prosecution authority.'
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- She said a court martial or prison sentence were options
if any soldier was found guilty of abuse.
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- The spokeswoman added: 'This alleged behaviour is appalling
and contravenes the British Army's high standards of conduct and besmirches
its good name.'
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- Human rights group Amnesty International lodged complaints
with the MoD and Pentagon before last week's shocking pictures were printed.
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- Neil Durkin, of Amnesty, said: 'We have 20 to 30 cases,
some relating to the same incident.
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- 'The allegations are against a mix of both British and
American forces. In most the prisoners were hooded and on numerous occasions
kicked and beaten and hit with hard objects, probably rifles.
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- 'They were made to stand in painful positions, deprived
of sleep and subjected to loud noises and bright lights and threatened
that they would be executed. A number of people have died in custody.'
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- Armed Forces minister Adam Ingram described the pictures
of torture as 'despicable', adding: 'If the allegations are true, they
are appalling and there is no justification for them at all.
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- 'We have to establish the facts as quickly as we can
and establish them accurately and precisely and then take appropriate action
as quickly as we can.'
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- The minister did not rule out sending extra troops to
Iraq to deal with the growing unrest.
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- Two US soldiers have been killed in roadside bombings
and two US sailors died in Iraq's central Anbar province over the last
two days.
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- http://www.sundaymail.co.uk/news/tm_objectid=14201795&method
=full&siteid=86024&headline=30-more-torture-scandals-probed-name_page.html
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