British troops accused of sexual abuse
Sunday, 13 Jul 2008 10:33
Troops serving at Camp Breadbasket in Basra were allegedly involved in the abuse
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British troops serving in Iraq have been accused of sexually abusing a 14-year-old at a base in the city of Basra five years ago.
The Independent on Sunday reports that troops at Camp Breadbasket had forced a boy, identified by the paper as Hassan, to sit on his friend's lap and to later perform oral sex on him.
Hassan, who is now 19, told the paper he and his friend were detained after being caught stealing milk cartons from a local warehouse. He was then taken to the base where he was repeatedly beaten by a group of soldiers and later forced to perform lewd acts.
The boy fled the city soon after the incident and has only publicly spoken about the incident, in May 2003, now.
Hassan said: "They ordered us to take off our clothes by gesturing to us to do so. When we refused they continued beating us, so we had to follow their orders. They made us sit on each other's laps. I was with one of the detainees, while another two detainees were made to do the same thing, as in the photos.
"They were enjoying humiliating and abusing us. I wished I was dead at this moment. Then they made me sit with Tariq as in the other photo, where I was forced to put Tariq's penis in my mouth. The other two were made to do the same.
"They locked the hangar while we were inside and left us there with no food or drink till the afternoon of the day after, when they opened the hangar and let us go," the Iraqi teenager told the paper.
The ministry of defence (MoD) stressed that the report was an allegation and had been referred to the Royal Military Police.
A spokesperson for the ministry said: "All but a handful of the more than 120,000 British troops who have served in Iraq have conducted themselves to the highest standards of behaviour, displaying integrity and selfless commitment.
"All allegations of abuse are investigated thoroughly and – where proven – those responsible are punished and the abused are compensated."
The news comes as the MoD announced that it would pay £2.83 million to nine Iraqis who had been mistreated and the family of Baha Mousa, who was killed while in the custody of British forces.
