The Baha Mousa Public Inquiry Report

Download or read book The Baha Mousa Public Inquiry report written by Baha Mousa Public Inquiry and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2011-09-08 with total page 420 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The terms of reference for this inquiry were to investigate and report on the circumstances surrounding the death of Baha Mousa and the treatment of those detained with him. It takes account of previous investigations that have already taken place, in particular where responsibility lay for approving the practice of conditioning detainees by any members of the 1st Battalion, The Queen's Lancashire Regiment in Iraq in 2003.The report is divided into four modules: the history of the use of conditioning techniques (from the time of internment in Northern Ireland in the early 1970s up to and including March 2003; Baha Mousa and other detainees; training and the chain of command; the future - what has happened since 2003 is considered in relation to conditioning techniques.Baha Mousa died with 93 injuries in custody in Basra in 2003. His relatives claim he was beaten to death by troops. The inquiry concluded that his death was caused by a combination of his weakened physical state and a final struggle with his guards.The Inquiry has criticised the conduct of individual soldiers, senior army officers and their legal advisers and also failures in the chain of command. The lack of training and preparation British troops received for the invasion of Iraq is also highlighted. The report found that systematic abuse of civilians by British troops did not happen.There are 64 recommendations to the Ministry of Defence including that the MoD should keep its current absolute prohibition on the use of hoods on captured personnel. Arguments for the ban are overwhelming and a return to their use is difficult to justify