THE government last night admitted breaching the human rights of a hotel worker beaten to death by a British soldier in Iraq.
This might open the floodgates to massive compensation payments for the man's family and eight other Iraqis in a case that civil-rights campaigners have dubbed the "Stephen Lawrence of Iraq".
They have also demanded an independent inquiry into t
he events.
Baha Mousa, 26, suffered 93 injuries after being taken into custody and tortured as UK troops sought information about weapons and suspected bomb-making equipment in Basra in 2003.
The incident resulted in seven soldiers being prosecuted for war crimes and one being jailed for a year after admitting "conditioning" Mr Mousa by beating him after he failed to remain in a tortuous position during detention.
Today, the High Court will be told that Des Browne, the Defence Secretary, has admitted "substantive breaches" of two articles of the European Convention on Human Rights in relation to Mr Mousa. These are the right to life and prohibition of torture.
Mr Browne also admitted in a statement to MPs that eight other Iraqis were tortured. Seven soldiers stood trial after a three-year investigation. Six were cleared last year, but Corporal Donald Payne, of the Queen's Lancashire Regiment, admitted a charge of inhumane treatment in relation to Mr Mousa.
The proceedings cost more than £20 million and sparked criticism that they should never have been brought.
Shami Chakrabarti, director of the human-rights group Liberty, said: "Baha Mousa is the Stephen Lawrence of Iraq.
"A direct legal and moral consequence of today's admission that Mousa and others were unlawfully tortured and killed in British custody is that there must be a wholesale independent inquiry into what went wrong."
Nick Harvey, the Liberal Democrat defence spokesman, said: "This is a not a good day for the reputation of Britain in Iraq and the wider world. These admissions from the MoD are of such a serious nature that there must be a full and independent inquiry into how such behaviour came about.
"The government now has a moral duty to provide a full compensation settlement to the victims and their families."
Bob Ainsworth, the armed forces minister, said: "I deeply regret the actions of a very small number of troops and I offer my sincere apologies and sympathy to the family of Baha Mousa and the other eight Iraqi detainees.
"All but a handful of the over 120,000 British troops who have served in Iraq have conducted themselves to the highest standards of behaviour, displaying integrity and selfless commitment.
"But this does not excuse that, during 2003 and 2004, a very small minority committed acts of abuse and we condemn their actions."
Phil Shiner, a solicitor acting for all nine claimants, said: "My clients are bitterly disappointed, but not surprised, that the government has not had the integrity to hold the independent inquiry required into the UK's detention policy in Iraq."
The full article contains 499 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
