Book description
On 15 September 2003 Baha Mousa, a hotel receptionist, was killed by
British Army troops in Iraq. He had been arrested the previous day in
Basra and was taken to a military base for questioning. For
forty-eight hours he and nine other innocent civilians had their heads
encased in sandbags and their wrists bound by plastic handcuffs and
had been kicked and punched with sustained cruelty.
A succession of guards and casual army visitors took pleasure in
beating the Iraqis, humiliating them, forcing them into stress
positions in temperatures up to 50 degrees Centigrade, and watching
them suffer in the dirty concrete building where they were held. Other
soldiers, officers, medics, the padre, did not take part in the
violence but they saw what was happening and did nothing to stop it.
Some knew it was wrong. Some weren't sure. Some were too scared to
intervene. But none said anything or enough until it was far too late
and Baha Mousa had been beaten to death.
This book tells the inside story of these crimes and their
aftermath. It examines the institutional brutality, the bureaucratic
apathy, the flawed military police inquiry and the farcical court
martial that attempted to hold people criminally responsible. Even
though a full public inquiry reported its findings into the crimes in
September 2011, its mandate restricted what it could say. The full
story, told with the power of a true-crime expose or court-room drama,
shows how this was not simply about a few bad men or 'rotten apples'.
It shines a light on all those involved in the crime and its
investigation, from the lowest squaddie to the elite of the army and
politicians in Cabinet. What it reveals is devastating.
Andrew Williams is an academic lawyer with the tenacity of a
detective and the literary flair of the best kind of investigative
journalist, and his account of the fate of Baha Mousa, a young Iraqi man
who was beaten to death by his guards in a British military prison, is
one of the most important pieces of writing to come out of the Iraq War.
With cool and meticulous detachment, he describes the bestial cruelty
which lies coiled within the most "professional" armies, and
the panic of the politicians and commanders who realised that the force
which toppled Saddam Hussein harboured war criminals of its own. Coolly,
calmly and without ever needing to raise his voice, he shows how the
political arrogance underpinning the whole Iraq enterprise expressed
itself in casual violence which ruined reputations, blighted families,
and snuffed out lives. -- Richard Lloyd Parry, Author Of People Who Eat
Darkness This is a landmark book. Fluently, meticulously, A. T. Williams
allows us to understand both the murderous nature of colonial war and
the insidious moral corruption behind its institutional facades. -- John
Pilger A meticulous, devastating account of war's modern cruelty and the
pursuit of justice. -- Philippe Sands, Author Of Lawless World As the
memory of the Iraq war fades, so do many of its horrors. A. T. Williams'
forensic account of the killing of Baha Mousa at the hands of British
soldiers ensures that one of the darkest episodes of the war will not be
forgotten. The picture that emerges is of the moral failings of the
soldiers involved, both those who abused, and those who turned a blind
eye - as well as the military's inept and at times callous response.
Anyone who hopes to avoid repeating the such calamities in future wars
should read this book. -- Jack Fairweather, Author Of A War Of Choice
Andrew Williams is a law professor at the University of Warwick and
Director of the Centre for Human Rights in Practice.
