Enkel slaan de dagen nadat Mod. miljoenen aan de vader van mensen Britse militairen moet betalen aan dood, komen de verse eisen van misbruik te voorschijn 

Door Andrew Johnson 

De Britse militairen dwongen een jongen van 14 om een handeling van mondeling geslacht op een mede mannelijke gevangene in Irak, volgens stuitende nieuwe beweringen uit te voeren die over het gedrag van Britse troepen worden gemaakt.

Het Ministerie van Defensie bevestigde gisteren dat de Koninklijke Militaire Politie (RMP) een onderzoek heeft gelanceerd. Als de beweringen worden bewezen, zou het gemene laag in het gedrag van Britse troepen in Irak, merken en beschadigt verder de reputatie van Groot-Brittannië in het Midden-Oosten.

Slachtoffer, nu 19, die de Onafhankelijke op Zondag is overeengekomen om slechts als Hassan te identificeren, zegt hij omhoog met een vriend terwijl het proberen om melkkartons van een centrum van de voedseldistributie te stelen rond werd gemaakt. Hij werd geranseld, werd geslagen en werd gedwongen om van naakt te ontdoen.

„Zij maakten ons op elkaars overlappingen zitten,“ hij zei. „Zij genoten van vernederend en misbruikend ons, wenste dit ik ik op dit ogenblik dood was. Dan maakten zij me met Tariq zitten… waar ik werd gedwongen om de penis van Tariq in mijn mond te zetten. Andere twee werden gemaakt om het zelfde te doen.“

De actie van het Hof is aan de gang zijnde meer dan een reeks beweringen die het Britse basisKamp Breadbasket en incidenten omringen dat daar in Mei 2003 plaatsvonden. Er zijn beweringen van gesimuleerd seksueel misbruik van Irakezen door Britse troepen geweest, maar dit, als waar, zou het eerste voorbeeld van daadwerkelijk seksueel misbruik zijn.

De militairen die omhoog plunderaar als deel van een verrichtingsAli Baba rond maken met codenaam namen foto's van gevangenen die in netten van vorkheftrucks worden opgeschort en anderen gedwongen om van naakt te ontdoen en gesimuleerde geslachtsposities goed te keuren.

De foto's veroorzaakten verontwaardiging rond de wereld toen zij werden gepubliceerd, nadat een Britse militair hen om bij een hoog-straatwinkel nam worden ontwikkeld. Een onderzoek RMP leidde tot enkel vier militairen die maximaal twee jaar in 2005 gevangen worden gezet. De een aantal zogenaamde slachtoffers, met inbegrip van Hassan, vervolgen Mod. voor schade.

The MoD last Thursday reiterated its official line that abuse was isolated to just a few rogue soldiers, after agreeing to pay nearly £3m compensation to the father of Baha Mousa, 26, a hotel receptionist beaten to death by British soldiers while in custody in a separate incident in September 2003, and nine other Iraqis beaten at the same time.

Mazin Younis, of the Iraqi League, who has travelled in Basra collecting witness statements of allegations of abuse, says he now has “more than 80″ cases involving allegations against British troops.

“Every single time I uncover a personal story of torture and humiliation in Iraq, I think to myself that I have seen the worst there is,” Mr Younis added. “Then I hear the next story.

“Hassan shook with emotion and humiliation as he described to me the treatment he suffered at the hands of British soldiers five years ago. It had taken constant prompting and repeated reminders about the importance of detail before Hassan felt brave enough to describe how he was forced to engage in oral sex with his friend Tariq while their British captors laughed raucously and took photographs.”

Such is the culture in Iraq that Hassan fears for his life if identified. It has taken him four years to find the courage to talk about the incident, Mr Younis said. He fled Basra after the incident, giving up his education and staying indoors for fear that someone may recognise him.

Mr Younis added: “There is, of course, no case as bad as a killing or murder. But the fact that this is sexual … It can lead to suicide because it is so humiliating. Hassan fled Basra because he couldn’t face his friends, the people who had seen this.

“He left education and is now unemployed. He has been very, very traumatised. It is the kind of thing that is very difficult to admit to or talk about. No one expected the British to be worse than Saddam Hussein.”

Mr Younis said the more than 80 allegations of abuse will form the basis of a series of actions at the European Court of Human Rights, as many of them took place outside British bases and are therefore outside British jurisdiction.

Phil Shiner, of Public Interest Lawyers, has represented many of the Iraqis who allege abuse at the hands of British troops, including Baha Mousa’s family and Hassan. “It should be a national scandal that representatives of the British state could have engaged in such appalling behaviour,” he said. “I call on the British government to immediately set up an inquiry into this incident.”

The Labour MP Harry Cohen also joined calls for an investigation. “We need to have a full inquiry into how we keep prisoners. It obviously needs a complete overhaul,” he said.

An MoD spokesman said yesterday: “We can confirm that a new allegation has been received in relation to the alleged abuse of a 14-year-old boy by British soldiers at Camp Breadbasket in May 2003.

“The allegation has been referred to the Royal Military Police, and efforts are in the process of being made to contact the alleged victim as soon as possible.

“All but a handful of the more than 120,000 British troops who have served in Iraq have conducted themselves to the highest standards of behaviour, displaying integrity and selfless commitment. All allegations of abuse are investigated thoroughly and – where proven – those responsible are punished and the abused are compensated.

“The Army has done a great deal since the cases of abuse related to the death of Baha Mousa in 2003. Procedures and training have been improved. But we are not complacent and continue to demand the very highest standards of conduct from all our troops.”

A case to answer

Baha Mousa

Beaten to death in September 2003. Nine others also mistreated. MoD agreed to £2.83m compensation payout last week and will hold a full inquiry into the abuse.

Camp Breadbasket

Prisoners beaten, forced to strip and simulate sex in May 2003. Subject of damages claim by 11 of the victims.

Abu Naji

Twenty Iraqi civilians allegedly executed at British base in Abu Naji in May 2004. Five survivors bringing a claim for damages.

Jabbir Hmoud Kammash

70-year-old tribal leader is bringing action over claims he was hooded and beaten during a raid at his home in Basra in April last year.

Ahmer Jabbar Kareem and Ayad Salim Hanoon

Teenagers forced to swim a canal, resulting in the drowning of Kareem, 15. Kareem’s father and Hanoon are pursuing a claim for damages.

Hassan’s statement: ‘They enjoyed abusing us’

At 7am my friends convinced me to head towards Camp Breadbasket in order to steal dried milk cartons in order to sell them on the black market. The hangars were surrounded by a high fence, though there was an opening in the fence. Next to the fence there was a road, then a river.

When we tried to leave the hangars via the opening in the fence British soldiers chased us. We tried to run away but were caught. Some Iraqis managed to escape arrest. I believe some may have drowned as they were trying to escape the British.

British soldiers caught me and started beating me and others using their vehicle’s aerials. They were beating us very harshly. We were led inside the hangars while still being beaten all the way. The beating became stronger when we were inside the camp. I was kept in a hangar along with four other Iraqis.

They ordered us to take off our clothes by gesturing to us to do so. When we refused they continued beating us, so we had to follow their orders. They made us sit on each other’s laps. I was with one of the detainees, while another two detainees were made to do the same thing, as in the photos. They were enjoying humiliating and abusing us. I wished I was dead at this moment. Then they made me sit with Tariq as in the other photo, where I was forced to put Tariq’s penis in my mouth. The other two were made to do the same.

They locked the hangar while we were inside and left us there with no food or drink till the afternoon of the day after, when they opened the hangar and let us go. Since then I fled Basra altogether as I cannot see Tariq again after what had happened, despite the fact that we were close friends.