Soldiers viewed all Iraqis as 'scum', Baha Mousa inquiry hears - Graphic

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http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/apr/27/baha-mousa-inquiry-soldiers



Baha Mousa, a Basra hotel worker, was beaten to death in 2003 while in the custody of 1 Battalion Queen's Lancashire Regiment. Photograph: Liberty/PA

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Intelligence officer says officers did not know rules on treatment of prisoners and one tried to mount 'arse-covering exercise' after Baha Mousa's death

Richard Norton-Taylor guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 27 April 2010 18.51 BST

An officer of the regiment detaining Baha Mousa, a Basra hotel worker, when he was beaten to death said his soldiers held the view that "all Iraqis were scum", it was disclosed today.

One officer tried to mount an "arse covering" exercise after Mousa's death, while others expressed ignorance of basic rules covering the treatment of prisoners, the public inquiry into the incident heard.

A military intelligence officer, identified only as SO 17, told the inquiry she was "amazed" at questions senior officers asked her about how prisoners should be treated.

Hooding, stress positions, noise-producing equipment and sleep deprivation were prohibited in a Joint Intelligence Committee document in 1972, the inquiry heard. They were banned by Edward Heath, then prime minister, after their use in Northern Ireland. snip

Mousa, a 26-year-old receptionist, was beaten to death on 15 September 2003 on suspicion of being an insurgent. He sustained 93 separate injuries while in the custody of soldiers from 1 Battalion Queen's Lancashire Regiment (1QLR).