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British army 'involved in torture mission with US troops'
Claims that British soldiers used water torture on a badly beaten Iraqi man before unlawfully handing him over to US interrogators are being investigated by the Ministry of Defense. The troubling case includes the first evidence before a UK court of British soldiers being directly involved in a joint torture operation with US forces.
Ali Lafteh Eedan, 37, says that for three hours British and US soldiers attempted to drown him by pushing his head into a bucket of water in August 2008. His case is the latest of 100 allegations being investigated by the Ministry of Defense's Iraqi historic abuse team.
Today High Court judges are to clear the way for a court case to force the Government to open a judicial inquiry into all allegations of abuse and torture.
Eedan, who is being represented by human rights solicitors Public Interest Lawyers, says he was a senior member of Iraq's National Intelligence Service before his arrest and detention. In his witness statement he alleges that a joint unit of American and British soldiers raided his Basra home at around 1am on 11 August 2008 while he, his wife and four children were asleep.
He claims a British soldier hit him in the face and when he fell to the ground three others stamped on him. Another British soldier terrified his family by firing his rifle inside the house.