If anyone is in doubt over the savagery of the British army then they need only look at the case of Baha Mousa. A hotel receptionist, he along with eight other Iraqis was detained on the 14^th September 2003 and tortured for no crime at all. He was hooded and repeatedly beaten, and within 36 hours he was dead. Private Garry Reader regrets remaining silent while the abuse took place and mentions that Baha attempted to escape and in a dazed state moved towards the door but was dragged back and relentlessly punched, kicked and unashamedly beaten until his screams turned to silence. The blood of Baha Mousa is on the hands of every British soldier who beat him as well as those who witnessed the affair in silence.

It would be a mistake to assume that this savagery was being perpetrated by a few rotten apples; rather it was widespread practice amongst a great number of soldiers. Furthermore, the recent publication of the inquiry into his death acknowledged high ranking officers must have also known about such incidences and either ignored them or approved of what was going on.
 

Not long before his detention and torture by British forces, Baha’s young wife died of cancer. His murder left his two young sons orphaned. For this dreadful crime one British soldier, Corporal Donald Payne, received a miserly sentence of just one year imprisonment for war crimes in 2007. In July 2008 the Ministry of Defence agreed to pay compensation to what it termed ‘mistreated detainees’. Perhaps the phrase tortured detainees is more fitting. Only in July 2009 was a public inquiry forthcoming after politicians dragged their heels and were forced to concede due circumstances that brought about the affair’s publicity. Despite this, Lord Dannatt, the head of the British army claimed that there was no attempt to cover up anything about Mr Mousa’s death and that the hearings came about due to openness and transparency prior to the setting up of the inquiry.
 

One has to wonder why eight years after Baha Mousa’s death it was decided that the inquiry be published on the eve of the 10 year 9/11 commemoration. It is no doubt a convenient time to bury the shameful misdeeds of the British war machine with Cameron and the head of the British army attempting to express that evil does not occur on our watch except that it is exposed and brought to justice. However, if the truth be told, the modicum of justice that was realised demonstrates nothing but the tip of an iceberg. Besides, one can be sure it wasn’t justice served by the system but rather justice served upon the system. Baha’s killers and tormentors, as well as the silent witnesses and the system all await their full measure of justice.
 

“And the earth shall beam with the light of its Lord, and the Book shall be laid down, and the prophets and the witnesses shall be brought up, and judgment shall be given between them with justice...” [39.69]