The Ministry of Defence has announced it is investigating claims British soldiers tortured Iraqi civilians.

Among 33 case of alleged sexual and physical abuse are under scrutiny including allegations of rape and use of torture techniques.

And of course - the BBC - watch the video

The Ministry of Defence has said it is investigating new allegations of abuse by the UK military in Iraq.

Lawyers acting for former Iraqi detainees are calling for a full public inquiry into 33 abuse claims made during UK military involvement there.

One allegation is that two soldiers raped a 16-year-old boy in 2003.

This really annoys me, it really does, we now have more allegations by Iraqi prisoners that they have been abused and tortured by British troops.

Why is it that when Saddam Hussein was in power in Iraq and the central Baghdad Prison - better known as Abu Ghraib was full of people he did not like who were tortured, abused, killed, raped and generally just left to die the Arab/Muslim countries said absolutely NOTHING and let the abuses continue?


The Abu Ghurayb, [Abu Ghraib] prison, located approximately 20 miles west of Baghdad, is where Saddam Kamal (who was head of the Special Security Organization) oversaw the torture and execution of thousands of political prisoners. The prison was under the control of the Directorate of General Security (DGS) also known as the Amn al-Amm.

As many as 4000 prisoners were executed at Abu Ghraib Prison in 1984. At least 122 male prisoners were executed at Abu Ghraib prison in February/ March 2000. A further 23 political prisoners were executed there in October 2001.

The facility occupies 280 acres with over 4 kilometers of security perimeter and 24 guard towers. The prison is composed of five distinct compound each surrounded by guard towers and high walls. Built by British contractors in the 1960s, Abu Ghraib is a virtual city within a city. The political section of Abu Ghraib was divided into "open" and "closed" wings. The closed wing housed only Shi'ites. The open wing held all other varieties of real or suspected activists. The "closed" wing was so named because its inmates -- at least until 1989 -- were permitted no visitors or outside contact. Cells measured approximately four meters by four meters and held an average of 40 persons.

As of 2001 Abu Ghraib prison, west of Baghdad, may have held as many as 15,000 persons, many of who were subject to torture. Hundreds of Fayli (Shi'a) Kurds and other citizens of Iranian origin, who had disappeared in the early 1980's during the Iran-Iraq war, reportedly were being held incommunicado at the Abu Ghurayb prison. Such persons have been detained without charge for close to 2 decades in extremely harsh conditions. Many of the detainees were used as subjects in the country's outlawed experimental chemical and biological weapons programs.

As of early 2002 the Iraqi government reported to the US that sum of 12.2 million Iraqi dinars had been earmarked for the construction of six prison blocks, four in the Abu Ghraib prison and two in the governorate of Babil prison, to accommodate 7,200 prisoners. The work had already begun. Ongoing construction activity, apparent as of mid-November 2002, suggests that Iraqi regime was planning for an increase in prison population either due to increased repression or an increase in anti-governmental activity. Four new prison compounds appear to be in the early stages of construction. The foundation and footings are either being dug or concrete has been poured.

Saddam Hussein declared an unprecedented amnesty to thank the Iraqi people for their “unanimity” in the referendum of October 2002, which extended his powers for another 7years. The “full and complete amnesty” applied to any Iraqi imprisoned or arrested for political or other reason but reportedly murderers on a death row will be released only with consent of the victims' families. Iraq's Revolutionary Command Council (RCC), the state's supreme authority, issued an amnesty to all prisoners in Iraq.

When Saddam announced his general amnesty for virtually all the nation's prisoners, the mob that assembled outside the Abu Ghraib prison started what looked like a traditional anti-American rally. They chanted praises to their dictator and shouted "Down Bush!" But the mood changed once it became clear the prisoners could bust through the gates without any resistance from guards. One guard turned toward an American photographer, smiled, stuck a thumb up and said, "Bush! Bush!"



In addition to the above it is known that the Iranian legal system which as you all know is Sharia actually encourages the dehumanizing of people by the use of torture and rape


According to the Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center [ITIC], an independent intelligence analysis organization, Mesbah-Yazdi is considered Ahmadinejad's personal spiritual guide. A radical totalitarian even in Iranian terms, he holds messianic views, supports increasing Islamization, calls for violent suppression of domestic political opponents, and, according to the ITIC, "declared that obeying a president supported by the Supreme Leader was tantamount to obeying God."

At the Jamkaran gathering, Mesbah-Yazdi and Ahmadinejad answered questions about the rape and torture charges. The following text is from a transcript by Iranian dissidents to be a series of questions and answers exchanged between the Ayatollah and some of his supporters.

Asked if a confession obtained "by applying psychological, emotional and physical pressure" was "valid and considered credible according to Islam," Mesbah-Yazdi replied: "Getting a confession from any person who is against the Velayat-e Faqih ["Guardianship of the Islamic Jurists", or the regime of Iran's mullahs] is permissible under any condition." The Ayatollah gave the identical answer when asked about confessions obtained through drugging the prisoner with opiates or addictive substances.

"Can an interrogator rape the prisoner in order to obtain a confession?" was the follow-up question posed to the Islamic cleric.

Mesbah-Yazdi answered: "The necessary precaution is for the interrogator to perform a ritual washing first and say prayers while raping the prisoner. If the prisoner is female, it is permissible to rape through the vagina or anus. It is better not to have a witness present. If it is a male prisoner, then it's acceptable for someone else to watch while the rape is committed."

This reply, and reports of the rape of teen male prisoners in Iranian jails, may have prompted the following question: "Is the rape of men and young boys considered sodomy?"

Ayatollah Mesbah-Yazdi: "No, because it is not consensual. Of course, if the prisoner is aroused and enjoys the rape, then caution must be taken not to repeat the rape."

A related issue, in the eyes of the questioners, was the rape of virgin female prisoners. In this instance, Mesbah-Yazdi went beyond the permissibility issue and described the Allah-sanctioned rewards accorded the rapist-in-the-name-of-Islam:

"If the judgment for the [female] prisoner is execution, then rape before execution brings the interrogator a spiritual reward equivalent to making the mandated Haj pilgrimage [to Mecca], but if there is no execution decreed, then the reward would be equivalent to making a pilgrimage to [the Shi'ite holy city of] Karbala."

Aaaah such nice people, and these are the barbarians who accuse us of torture and mistreatment!!!

The removal of Saddam - on what ever pretext was the wish of the Iraqi people, this was made clear just after the first Gulf war, Saddam's armies had just been kicked out of Kuwait, the coalition forces did not venture into Iraq - they, the coalition forces were immediately chastised and criticized for not entering Iraq and removing Saddam.

The Iraq war removed Saddam, it appeared that most Iraqi's were happy about this, so happy they then started killing the very people that removed Saddam - there's gratitude for you.

We now have another thirty allegations of brutality made against British troops, indeed the Iraqi representative who spoke on BBC news this AM said  that such behaviour by British troops was institutional in the British forces.

These allegations have not been proved, however the allegations alone do serious damage to the moral and credibility of our Troops in conflict scenarios, even if the allegations are proved to be unfounded the damage has still been done.

Maybe I am just too sceptical or cynical but I think that this latest batch of allegations is another stage of the Islamic Jihad against the West - the objective is to humiliate our troops and paint them as barbarians, we all know who the barbarians are and we should now, in the strongest terms, tell these people to show absolute concrete evidence and not just present  allegations, The media should also refuse to print such stories until absolute proof of innocence or guilt is ascertained.

To present unfounded allegations against our Troops - on a World stage - only serves the Jihadi cause and further undermines our troops who are posted in Muslim countries, this will make our troops much more uncertain of how to react in dangerous situations - which could result in their death or injury - of course these deaths will be welcomed in the Islamic World.