Soldier arrested over Iraqi PoW 'torture' pictures
PA
30 May 2003


A soldier has been arrested over allegations of torture involving Iraqi prisoners of war.

Photograph developers are understood to have called the police because they were concerned about a number of pictures on a roll of film that had been handed in to their shop for developing.

According to The Sun , one of the photographs showed an Iraqi PoW gagged and bound, hanging in netting from a fork-lift truck and soldiers performing sex acts near captured Iraqis.

The matter is now in the hands of the military police.

A Ministry of Defence spokeswoman said: "We confirm an investigation is under way into allegations of photos depicting maltreatment of Iraqi PoWs. A soldier has been arrested.

"We cannot comment further. But if there is any truth in these allegations the MoD is appalled. We take responsibility to PoWs extremely seriously."

If the allegations are found to be true, the soldiers involved would be guilty of a breach of the Geneva Convention which rules that PoWs have to be treated humanely.


According to The Sun, the unnamed soldier was serving in the 1st battalion Royal Regiment of Fusiliers - part of the famous Desert Rats - in southern Iraq at the time of the alleged events.

The newspaper reported that he was arrested by civilian police at his home in Tamworth, Staffordshire, where he was on leave following the war.

 http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/this_britain/story.jsp?story=410750