London, April 26: British Army investigators have begun interviewing the first of more than 150 Iraqis, who had suffered abuse at the hands of British troops in Iraq.
The Iraq Historic Allegations Team (IHAT) began taking statements last month from those Iraqis, who had fallen victim to abuse while in the detention of British troops after the March 2003 US-led invasion of the country.
The investigations into an increasing number of abuse allegations were launched last year by the government amid mounting calls for a public inquiry into claims.
“We can confirm IHAT investigators started interviewing the alleged Iraqi victims in March 2011”, an IHAT spokesman said.
“It would be inappropriate to comment on the locations of the interviews. They took place in a third-party country and we are very grateful for the co-operation of the country concerned,” said the spokesman.
An unsuccessful judicial review bid had earlier been launched by lawyers representing the majority of the claimants, calling for a full independent inquiry into cases of “systematic abuse”.
Public Interest Lawyers, representing Ali Zaki Mousa and 142 others, argued that IHAT was not sufficiently independent due to the role of Royal Military Police (RMP) in the investigations team.
The cases of abuse included keeping detainees naked, various types of sexual abuse, depriving detainees of food and water, as well as prolonged solitary confinement, sleep deprivation and mock execution.
The majority of the alleged incidents occurred in three British facilities, but abuse is said to have taken place at up to 14 sites.
——–Agencies