Legal battle begins over Iraqi death

Iraqi teen's family says he was tortured and killed by British soldiers

RAYMOND HAINEY, Scotsman

THE family of a 17-year-old Iraqi has lodged papers at the High Court claiming Scottish troops tortured and killed him while in custody at an army detention centre. Hamid Al-Sweady was said to be uninjured after he was detained following a gun battle between insurgents and a unit from the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders. But in papers filed yesterday, his family, which is fighting for a public inquiry, claims his corpse bore marks of torture and hanging after it was handed over to relatives a day later (...) The gunfight, which began when an Argylls' patrol unit was ambushed on the main road between Basra and Amara in the south of Iraq in May 2004, ended with two soldiers slightly wounded and at least 14 Iraqis dead. The next day, soldiers removed bodies from the battlefield and arrested a number of people, taking them all to their base near Amara. Among them, the family claims, was the teenager, who was said to be studying for exams nearby when the battle broke out. It is not known how he died, but his body was given to relatives for burial a day later. Roz Campion, of Public Interest Lawyers, which is acting for Iraqi families, said Mr Al- Sweady's uncle, Khuder, a hospital laboratory scientist, saw the corpse of his nephew after it was handed over for burial. His witness statement, lodged at the court, claims the corpse had a bullet wound as well as marks of ill-treatment and hanging (...) ACCORDING to witness statements lodged with the High Court, several Iraqi bodies collected by British troops following the battle and handed back later bore marks consistent with mutilation...

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