Ministry of Defence pays out £14m in out-of-court settlements to Iraqi ‘torture victims’

11 years ago | Posted in: Latest Politics News | 608 Views

The Ministry of Defence has paid £14million in compensation to 205 Iraqis who complained they were tortured by British forces, it emerged last night.

The out-of-court settlements seem to have opened the floodgates, with a further 196 payments being currently negotiated by MoD lawyers and another 700 Iraqis expected to make claims next year.

Until the beginning of this year, British authorities had made just 43 payments to former Iraqi prisoners, over a four-year period.

Human rights groups and lawyers representing prisoners say abuse was systemic in south-east Iraq in the five years after the 2003 invasion of the country.

They are calling for a public inquiry into British forces’ interrogation and detention practices – something the MoD is keen to avoid.

Officials say the matters are not serious enough for war crimes charges and disciplinary charges are unlikely to lead to convictions.

Payments totalling £8.3million have been made to 162 Iraqis this year. Seventeen individuals received compensation last year and 26 in the three years before that.

The average payment was almost £70,000, including costs.

Most of those compensated are male civilians who claim to have been beaten, deprived of sleep and threatened during interrogation.

Others claimed they were sexually humiliated. They had been detained on suspicion of involvement in the violent insurgency against the occupation.

An MoD spokesman said last night: ‘Over 120,000 British troops have served in Iraq and the vast majority have conducted themselves with the highest standards of integrity and professionalism.

‘All allegations of abuse will always be investigated thoroughly.

‘We will compensate victims of abuse where it is right to do so and seek to ensure that those responsible are brought to justice.’

ref: http://www.dailymail.co.uk

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