Saddam Hussein’s regime committed 2,000 war crimes against Britons following Iraq’s 1990 invasion of Kuwait, a report kept secret for 30 years reveals today.
Records released to the National Archives show the extent to which those seized during the Gulf War by the dictator’s forces – mostly civilians – were murdered, tortured and raped.
Some were shocked with electric shocks.
The report, compiled by Special Branch investigators with the Royal Military Police in 1992, says there is ‘compelling evidence of systematic breaches’ of the Geneva Convention by Iraq, with 1,373 Britons held hostage, including 556 used as ‘human shields’.
Saddam Hussein’s regime committed 2,000 war crimes against Britons following Iraq’s 1990 invasion of Kuwait, a report kept secret for 30 years reveals today
This was more than 300 people who were on board a British Airways plane that arrived in Kuwait at the same time as Saddam invaded.
Liz Truss, Foreign Secretary of Liz Truss apologized last month. She acknowledged that the ministers were aware of the invasion but didn’t tell BA to divert it.
Many on board claim the flight was not stopped because it was carrying a Special Forces intelligence-gathering team.
A spokesperson from the Government again denied that yesterday.
After being released, eight of the human shields were left to die from suicide or heart attack.
Investigators from ‘Operation Sand Castle’ interviewed 1,868 witnesses and took a further 725 statements.
The investigation revealed that 1,944 offenses had been committed against British citizens and another 1,506 against people of other nationalities.
The report concluded that there was ‘considerable and compelling evidence of systematic and grave breaches of the Fourth Geneva Convention [designed to protect civilians during wartime] committed by the Iraqi authorities, members of the Iraqi armed forces and their collaborators against the personal and property rights of British subjects.’
According to the report, eight of those who had been held in human shields were killed as a result. These people died from either heart attacks or suicidal attempts after Saddam was released. Ten Britons died as a result of an attempted murder.
It added that ‘the gratuitous use of violence by the Iraqi authorities and their collaborators to achieve their ends appears to have known no bounds.’
Four Britons were subjected to ‘inhuman treatment’, including former Royal Marine Douglas Brand and his associate Patrick Trigg, who were captured when they tried to leave Kuwait.
They claimed that they had been routinely beat and received electric shocks to the head and testicles.
Records released to the National Archives show the extent to which those seized during the Gulf War by the dictator’s forces – mostly civilians – were murdered, tortured and raped. Some were shocked with electric shocks to the head or testicles.
The report also details the ‘severe beatings’ handed out to five captured Special Forces operatives, who were ‘randomly and gratuitously assaulted by their guards.’
This could refer to Bravo Two Zero’s mission, later retold by Andy McNab and Chris Ryan in their best-selling books.
It adds that the men were ‘beaten with canes, pieces of wood or improvised whips.’
‘Although such assaults sometimes took place during interrogation, it is clear that the beatings were aimed at breaking the soldiers’ spirits and will to resist, rather than by way of torture to extract specific information,’ the Sand Castle memo details.