Baha Mousa Public Inquiry

PIL is leading the legal team at the Baha Mousa Public Inquiry representing Daoud Mousa (Baha Mousa’s father) and the nine other victims of the abuse which occurred between 15-16 September 2003 at Battle Group Main in Basra, Iraq. As a result of the use of conditioning techniques, Baha Mousa was killed and nine other men (most of them colleagues from the hotel where Baha Mousa worked) were badly injured in what clearly amounted to torture in breach of article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

PIL’s work on the Inquiry follows its representation of Daoud Mousa in the Al-Skeini case, which confirmed that the Human Rights Act applies to the actions of British troops in the detention of prisoners on operations outside the UK. Following the victory in the House of Lords, the question of whether a Public Inquiry should be instituted was referred to the Divisional Court and it was during these proceedings that the Government conceded the establishment of the Inquiry, on 14 May 2008. The terms of reference are set out here:

http://www.bahamousainquiry.org/about/background.htm

A more detailed examination of the specific issues to be addressed by the Inquiry can be found here:

http://www.bahamousainquiry.org/linkedfiles/baha_mousa/key_documents/issues_list.pdf

Clearly, if the Inquiry is to fully comply with the obligations of the British Government to fully and impartially investigate acts of torture and to secure accountability for the victims, its scope will have to be wide ranging and, aside from a full examination of the events of 14-16 September 2003 (in respect of which only a partial picture emerged from the Camp Bulford Court Martial from September 2006 to February 2007), it will need to examine the vexed questions of (amongst others): the history of the development and use of coercive interrogation techniques in the UK (in particular following their ban in the wake of their use in Northern Ireland in the 1970s); how coercive interrogation techniques came to be authorised by the Army command and central Government in Iraq; the role of legal advisers in this authorisation; the influence which well-known US interrogation policy played in the development and adoption of these techniques and the role of medical personnel in their use. If the Inquiry delivers upon its terms of reference it will provide the answers to all of these questions and shine a spotlight on UK practice, often ignored in favour of more well-known incidents of US abuse post-9/11 partly as a result of the more open freedom of information regime in the US.

The Inquiry was formally set up on 1 August 2008. It is chaired by the Right Honourable Sir William Gage, a former Court of Appeal judge. The Inquiry will be in the preliminary phase of procedural hearings and evidential disclosure prior to the commencement of oral hearings around September 2009. It is expected to last around a year from this date. Regular updates will be posted to this website and to the Inquiry website (www.bahamousainquiry.org).