Prime Minister Tony Blair said on Monday that he only recently became aware of some specific allegations by the Red Cross that British and American troops had abused Iraqi prisoners.
British Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon told Parliament that the Red Cross has raised three issues regarding British forces — and investigations or other actions have already begun.
Hoon said British military police have investigated or are investigating 33 complaints, of which 15 have been dismissed.
“I can confirm today that two cases have reached an advanced stage with decisions on prosecution pending,” Hoon said.
Blair’s office has said that the International Committee of the Red Cross told the government in February of alleged abuses by coalition troops.
Blair told a news conference that “in respect of the specific allegations about the Red Cross and so on, as far as I’m aware, these are things that we only knew of in the last few days”.
He also said that “as far as I’m aware, not merely myself but all other government ministers did not know these specific allegations until they arose in the newspapers recently”.
Hoon said the Red Cross report raised three issues: the death of Baha Mousa (28) in custody in September; the routine hooding of prisoners; and a detainee who claimed his car had been stolen.
Hoon said an investigation of Mousa’s death began immediately, and the case had been discussed in Parliament.
Routine use of hoods ceased in September, Hoon said. And the man who claimed his car was stolen was given forms to lodge a claim, but nothing more was heard of the matter, Hoon said.
Blair said he hadn’t seen the Red Cross report but understood that there are “two specific items” relating to Britain.
“One is in respect of a particular practice, the other is in respect of a particular individual,” he said at a news conference with Chinese Premier Wen Wen Jiabao. “My understanding is that both issues have been dealt with properly.
“What is not true to say is that the Red Cross or anyone else has said that British troops have been carrying out the systematic abuse or torture or mistreatment of Iraqi detainees or anyone else.”
According to Blair’s official spokesperson, the prime minister was not aware of the Red Cross report when it was passed to British officials in February because it was handled at “operational” level.
“The way our system works is that the prime minister is not in charge of every prison in this country nor in charge of every detention centre elsewhere. These are matters that are dealt with at the appropriate level,” Blair’s spokesperson said, briefing reporters on condition of anonymity.
Last week, the Wall Street Journal published details from the report describing beatings and humiliation of prisoners at Baghdad’s Abu Ghraib prison and in the British-controlled southern city of Basra. The Red Cross confirmed the leaked report is genuine.
Blair apologised on Sunday for any abuse of prisoners by British troops, but insisted that the allegations, if true, only apply to a small number of soldiers.
Earlier on Monday, Trade and Industry Secretary Patricia Hewitt told BBC radio that “anyone who sees the pictures and hears the stories of what some soldiers, American and possibly British, have been doing to Iraqi prisoners, feels — I think — shame and disgust”. — Sapa-AP
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