Ex-officer at detainee death probe

Feb 15 2010

A decorated former Army commanding officer whose soldiers were accused of beating an Iraqi civilian to death is due to give evidence to the public inquiry into the incident.

Colonel Jorge Mendonca became the most senior British officer to face a court martial in recent history when he was charged with negligently performing a duty in relation to the abuse of Baha Mousa and other detainees.

He was cleared in 2007, but the inquiry into Mr Mousa's death heard claims he was "trigger happy" and punched an Iraqi prisoner in front of more than 100 troops.

Col Mendonca was commanding officer of 1st Battalion the Queen's Lancashire Regiment (1QLR) at the time of the alleged abuse in Basra, southern Iraq, in 2003. He was highly regarded by his peers and was awarded the Distinguished Service Order for his "inspirational" leadership during Preston-based 1QLR's tour of duty in Iraq.

But he left the Army after the high-profile court martial, saying he believed he had been "hung out to dry" and made to feel like a "common criminal" by his commanders.

Mr Mousa, 26, was working as a receptionist at Basra's Ibn Al Haitham hotel when it was raided by British forces looking for weapons. He and several of his colleagues were arrested and taken to 1QLR's base, where he died on September 15, 2003, having suffered 93 separate injuries.

The public inquiry was told that British soldiers used "conditioning" methods on Iraqi prisoners - such as hooding, sleep deprivation and making suspects stand in painful stress positions - banned by the UK Government in 1972.

Exactly three years and a day after the court martial found him not guilty, Col Mendonca will face questions about why his men apparently thought they were allowed to use these techniques.

Former Corporal Donald Payne told the inquiry of an occasion where Col Mendonca cocked his pistol, held it above a prisoner's mouth and threatened to "blow his face off". Payne, the only soldier convicted over Mr Mousa's death, claimed: "He would pull his pistol out at any opportunity. He would behave as if he were a member of the SAS."

Payne, who was cleared of charges of manslaughter and perverting the course of justice, was dismissed from the Army and sentenced to one year in a civilian jail after pleading guilty to the war crime of inhumane treatment in September 2006. The other six soldiers who faced the court martial, including Col Mendonca, were cleared on all counts in 2007.