This British TV video says about itself:
Dispatches, Channel 4’s flagship current affairs strand, exposes the full and unreported horror of the Iraqi conflict and its aftermath, revealing the true scale of civilian casualties; and allegations that after the scandal of Abu Ghraib, American soldiers continued to abuse prisoners; and that US forces did not systematically intervene in the torture and murder of detainees by the Iraqi security services. The programme also features previously unreported material of insurgents being killed while trying to surrender.
By Will Stone in Britain:
Lawyers have called for a public inquiry into how British troops treated detainees during the Iraq war.
Solicitors lodged a claim for a judicial review on behalf of their 66 Iraqi clients who claim they were abused by British troops, including allegations of torture, rape and sexual humiliation.
Birmingham-based legal firm Public Interest Lawyers argued that the cases were so numerous and so similar that the Ministry of Defence, Royal Military Police and the courts could not hope to deal with all the cases individually within a reasonable timescale.
See also here.
The United Nations secretary general, Kofi Annan, declared explicitly for the first time last night that the US-led war on Iraq was illegal. Mr Annan said that the invasion was not sanctioned by the UN security council or in accordance with the UN’s founding charter. In an interview with the BBC World Service broadcast last night, he was asked outright if the war was illegal. He replied: “Yes, if you wish.” He then added unequivocally: “I have indicated it was not in conformity with the UN charter. From our point of view and from the charter point of view it was illegal”: here.
This video from the USA says about itself:
Iraqi Refugee Describes Torture of Husband TODAY – Democracy Now Amy Goodman
20 September 2010
Iraqi Refugee Describes Ongoing Torture of Husband, Imprisonment of Husband Who Returned to Iraq to Free Jailed Son
Rabiha al Qassab, a British Iraqi woman who lives in London, describes the harrowing story of her husband, Ramze Shihab Ahmed. Having fled in 1998 after being accused of trying to overthrow Saddam Hussein, Ramze returned to Iraq last year to get his son out of prison. He, too, was arrested and was tortured. Like 30,000 other Iraqis, he and his son are being held without charge.
See transcript of this here.
Dear Kitty. Some blog 
Britain probes Iraqi claims of torture and rape: ministry
AFP
November 13, 2009
LONDON – An investigation has been launched into allegations that British soldiers tortured Iraqi civilians, Britain’s Ministry of Defence said Friday.
The announcement of the probe came after the Independent newspaper said 33 cases of alleged abuse had been reported, including claims of rape, the use of torture techniques and physical assault.
The newspaper said the civilians claimed British soldiers in Iraq copied sexual and physical abuse from photographs taken at the notorious U.S.-run Abu Ghraib jail in Baghdad, which emerged in 2004.
A legal letter was served on the ministry last week by a lawyer representing the Iraqis, the report said.
Britain’s armed forces minister Bill Rammell said “formal investigations” must be carried out “without judgments being made prematurely”.
He added: “Over 120,000 British troops have served in Iraq and the vast, vast majority have conducted themselves to the highest standards of behaviour, displaying integrity and selfless commitment.
“While there have been instances when individuals have behaved badly, only a tiny number of individuals have been shown to have fallen short of our high standards.
“Allegations of this nature are taken very seriously, however allegations must not be taken as fact and formal investigations must be allowed to take their course without judgments being made prematurely.”
In the letter to the ministry, reported in the newspaper, lawyer Phil Shiner said: “Given the history of the U.K.’s involvement in the development of these techniques alongside the U.S., it is deeply concerning that there appears to be strong similarities between instances of the use of sexual humiliation.”
One claimant alleges he was raped by two British soldiers, while others say they were striped naked, abused and photographed, the Independent reported.
Female British soldiers are alleged to have taken part in the alleged abuse, according to the newspaper.
In September 2003, Iraqi hotel receptionist Baha Mousa died after suffering 93 injuries, including fractured ribs and a broken nose, while in British military custody in Basra, southern Iraq. A public inquiry into the case is taking place in London.
Photographs taken at Abu Ghraib showed naked and hooded prisoners being beaten until they bled by their U.S. guards and made to commit humiliating acts such as simulated homosexual intercourse.
In 2006, then U.S. President George W. Bush admitted the scandal was the biggest blunder Washington had made in its entire Iraq campaign, and the facility was closed and handed over to Iraqi control.
© Copyright (c) AFP
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