New Testimonies From British Soldiers Reveal Widespread Torture in Iraq
Ex-soldiers have testified about the casual and routine use of torture at Camp Stephen.
The following are excerpts from the official judicial inquiry which is being conducted into the deaths of Radhi Nama and Mousa Ali, two Iraqi civilians who were tortured to death at Camp Stephen in 2003. The British Army unit that was deployed at Camp Stephen was Black Watch. These excerpts reveal widespread torture at the camp, including detainees being forced into stress positions, forced to exercise while being screamed at, and being thrown into a filthy tributary and forced to swim, while having stones thrown at them. The senior officer who commanded the camp directly participated in detainee abuse, including forcing detainees into stress positions. One of the soldiers reveals that prior to being deployed to Iraq, members of Black Watch were trained to use stress positions at a training facility in Catterick (England). An army medic confirms that everyone at the camp knew that detainees were being abused, and no one did anything to stop it. He also confirms that “Civilians were being captured all of the time” on suspicion of looting and subjected to this practice of ‘wetting’ (being forced into the filthy tributary).
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