Briton jailed in Iraq for terrorism claims he was tortured

A British barber who has been convicted in Iraq of being a terrorist has told the Guardian that he was repeatedly tortured. Mohammed Hussein, from Birmingham, was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment by an Iraqi court late last month. He says he suffered beatings and that the torture he suffered included attempts to pull his fingernails out. The 29-year-old was among hundreds detained in late January accused of being part of an Iraqi Shia cult called the Soldiers of Heaven. Iraqi government forces supported by US airpower killed more than 250 people after a battle outside Najaf. The Iraqi government says the cult was planning to assassinate Shia religious leaders, but critics accuse the government of a massacre and cover-up. Hussein says he went to Iraq to care for his mother, who was ill. He denies any terrorist involvement or support for the cult. The attack by Iraqi forces also killed his mother and sister. Speaking from his prison cell in Iraq, Hussein told the Guardian: "I'm very bad, it's miserable. "I'm nothing to do with Bin Laden or any terrorist group. I don't believe in any fight. They said I was one of the fighters. They beat me badly for days and days. "They tried to take my nails out, they pulled my nails. For the first two weeks I had full punishment." He added: "Another group came, they tortured me even more. They told me to say I'm a spy sent by the British, [they said] you gave money, you support [the insurgents]. They twisted both my arms. They are worse than Saddam, they do the same and even worse. They want me to say things that are not true." He was detained with his wife, Ebtihal Hussein, and his two-year-old son. Ebtihal Hussein says she was threatened with torture and detained for two months. Speaking for the first time she said: "They beat up a woman in front of me, her legs were blue, she had to go to hospital. They hanged her from the ceiling and beat her. "I thought they would beat me up just like the woman. "They said they would take my son from me. They wanted me to say things against my husband. They called us terrorists. "They hit my husband. They hung him by his arms, his arms hurt, he has been left with a deformity." She said British diplomatic officials had done nothing to help them. One possible explanation for the zeal of the Iraqi authorities in pursuing Hussein is that his brother-in-law is a leader of an insurgent group opposed to Iraq's government. However, Ebtihal Hussein said her husband had very little contact with his brother-in-law. The Foreign Office in London said Hussein is a dual British and Iraqi national, which means they cannot provide him with full consular support. They say they have asked the Red Crescent, the Islamic version of the Red Cross, to check on Hussein, but the organization has so far been unable to do so because of the hazardous security conditions. A Foreign Office spokesperson said they had asked the Iraqi authorities for details of the case, but were still awaiting a response: "As he is a dual national, in his second country of nationality, Foreign Office consular staff cannot offer full consular support." Mr. and Mrs. Hussein have been supported by the London-based Islamic Human Rights Commission, whose director, Massoud Shadjareh, said: "Mohammed Hussein seems to be just one of many who were picked up in this operation. Most appear to have been denied due process, and it seems clear that there is no accountability and no clear judicial processes in operation in Iraq. "The British government, knowing these facts, has failed to provide its citizens proper protection or support."