The Baha Mousa Public Inquiry

Day 12: Monday 28 September 2009

The evidence of detainee D001 and of Ahmad Taha Mousa Matairi

The evidence of detainee D001

D001 was sworn in as a witness.   Counsel to the Inquiry Gerard Elias then questioned the witness.  D001 confirmed that his statement (in English) was translated into Arabic for him.  D001 said that he had been working at the Ibn Al Haitham hotel for about 18 months when the soldiers came to the hotel.  D001 said that at the time his was a cleaner and would show guests to their rooms and confirmed that he also worked as a security guard along with D002.  D001 said he and D002 had two guns, Kalashnikovs, which were stored during the day in a drawer/safe at reception but would be taken out at night.  The wooden part of the guns had been removed to make them lighter and easier to lock-up in drawer/safe.  D001 said he did not know of any guns kept at the hotel but knew that C001 had a pistol.  D001 was shown pictures of guns, grenades and a pair of binoculars which British soldiers had found in a toilet in the hotel.  D001 said he had never seen these weapons before, that he had not been in that toilet for one or two months, that said toilet was locked and C001 had the key.  D001 said that he did not know that IDs were false but saw C001 wearing ID.

D001 was rounded up by soldiers in the hotel lobby with other detainees and made to lie on floor face down, with hands on heads, the soldiers then walked on the detainees' backs.   The detainees were led to toilets and toilet water was flushed over some of the detainees but not D001 as he was in the corridor.  D001 was asked why his statement to the Royal Military Police stated that water was flushed on all detainees, including D001; D001 said they must have misinterpreted what he had said.  The detainees then had their hands tied behind their backs and were led out of the hotel.  D001 said the detainees' eyesight was not restricted; when D001 was asked why in his statement to the Inquiry had he said the detainees were hooded, D001 said that he had been mistaken.

D001 confirmed that he arrived at the Temporary Detention Facility (TDF) on Sunday and stayed there until Tuesday morning.  D001 said that on arrival at the TDF, the detainee’s hands were released and recuffed with arms to the front.  D001 said that the beatings started immediately and were consistently applied day and night.  D001 said they were given breakfast on the Monday and that beatings resumed until the next day.  Beatings took the form of punches, kicks and poking directed at the abdomen, sides, kidneys and legs.  D001 was punched twice in the face and had the rough hood he was wearing rubbed into his face.  The hoods were removed Tuesday morning, around dawn.  D001 once heard Baha Mousa shouting 'I'm tired.  I can't cope.  I can't take anymore.'

D001 said that on the first day that his heart was pounding fast, his breathing hard, his legs shaking and did not feel well so a man was brought to examine him; the man examined D001's back and chest and used a stethoscope.  D001's hood was removed for this examination and D001 was rehooded and put back into the stress position after the examination.  D001's hood was also removed halfway for drinking water; D001 said that when asked they would be brought warm water to drink and the soldiers would also pour cold water down the detainees' backs D001 could not see soldiers who beat him.  The detainees were not allowed to sleep and beatings were administered to prevent sleep.  D001 was allowed to use the toilet when he asked to do so.  D001 was forced to adopt stress position, knees bent, arms outstretched in front of him and a beating would be administered if he lowered his hands.  D001 was aware that soldiers were being rotated to carry out beating as voices would change.  D001 also said that the soldiers played the detainees like musical instruments in that they would laugh at the different noises created by the punches.

D001 was taken for questioning during daylight but could not remember what day this was.  Questioning took place about 150 meters away and D001's hood was removed for questioning.  D001 did not tell interrogator that he had been beaten but told him that he had undergone worse than torture, asking 'are we Jews'?  The questioner did not respond to this and only wanted to know about C001, questioning lasted ten minutes or so and D001 was not questioned again.  When D001 got back to the TDF the beating continued.

D001 said that when he left the TDF on the Tuesday morning he had aches all over the body and bleeding above the eyebrow.   The Inquiry was then shown photographs of D001's back showing bruising.  D001 said he had been examined at Camp Bucca and was given some tablets.

D001 was then questioned by Mr Dingemans.  When cross-examined D001 said he did not remember telling the interrogator that he had undergone worse than torture and asking him 'are we Jews?'

D001 was then questioned by Mr Topolski.  D001 confirmed that when he got to the TDF he was recuffed, hooded, searched and made to adopt a stress position.  D001 suggested that to process all the detainees in this way would have taken about an hour so the beatings could have started immediately; D001 could not be clear as to how long this took.

D001 was then questioned by Mr Friedman.  D001 confirmed that after the TDF he was taken to a 'silent camp' within Camp Bucca where one is not allowed to speak.

The evidence of Ahmad Taha Mousa Matairi

Ahmad Taha Mousa Matairi was then sworn in as a witness.  He confirmed that he was a co-owner of the hotel when he was arrested by the British army and that there were two other co-owners, C001 and D006.  When asked whether the hotel was used for meetings by sympathisers to Saddam Hussein he said that he was unaware of this and that his brother was executed by Saddam's regime.  Mr Matairi said at first he was overjoyed when the British army arrived in Iraq.

Mr Matairi confirmed that he had a key to the safe of the office in the hotel.  He further confirmed that four Kalashnikovs were kept at the hotel and said that the government allowed families to have a certain amount of guns due to the instability in the country at that time.  He said that these Kalashnikovs were displayed in the Hotel lobby so as to act as a deterrent and that there were no other guns kept in the Hotel.  When asked, he said that he was unaware that grenades were kept in the hotel.  The Inquiry was shown a photograph of a toilet in the hotel where the grenades were found; Mr Matairi said that this toilet was disused and locked and that C001 had the only key to said toilet.  He said that the equivalent, in Iraqi and US money, of USD1 600 was kept in the hotel safe and that this was a nominal sum.  He said he was not present when his employees posed in photographs with the guns.

On the day the British army came to the hotel, Mr Matairi was called by his brother Kifah Matairi as the British army wanted the key to the safe.  When Mr Matairi got to the hotel he gave a British soldier the key and noticed that the other detainees were lying down on the lobby floor; he was made to lie down with them.  When Daoud Mousa shouted that money was being stolen, Mr Matairi said he lifted his head up and saw the theft with 2 to 3 soldiers stuffing money into their pockets.  He said that an officer reprimanded them for this.  Mr Matairi said that whilst lying down on the floor that a muscular, tattooed soldier put his foot on his head several times; this was done by way of insult and not to cause harm.  He said that he and the other detainees were all taken to the toilet where D002 was splashed with toilet water and the Matairi brothers were kicked on the legs.  Mr Matairi said that when leaving the Hotel that he was then blindfolded and his hands tied with plastic cuffs in front of his body.  He confirmed that the other detainees were also blindfolded.

Mr Matairi said on arriving at the TDF the detainees were hooded, handcuffed with arms forward and that the beatings started a minute or two afterwards.  He confirmed that he was kept at the TDF from Sunday morning until Tuesday morning.  He said that the numbers of soldiers carrying out the beatings varied as the shifts rotated with tired soldiers leaving and fresh soldiers resuming the beating.  He did not think there was any difference in the beatings whether it was day or night.  He had been double hooded.  Mr Matairi said that his hood was partially removed for eating on the Tuesday morning, drinking water, when examined by a doctor on the Tuesday and during his interrogation.  At no other time at the TDF was his hood removed.  When asked he did not remember being photographed on the first day.  He said that as he was hooded he could not see which soldiers where beating him but he could hear the screams of the other detainees.  Mr Matairi said that the weather was hot and his face was sweating because of the hood.  He said that he was made to stand on one leg and never allowed to sleep.  When asked Mr Matairi said that he did not overhear any of the detainees talking about attempting to escape.

When taken from the TDF to be questioned, Mr Matairi said his hood was raised just above his eyes but his hands remained cuffed.  He remembered being questioned on the day he was arrested and that the questioner was tall, white skinned but slightly reddish, blue eyed, thin, with a long nose and light hair combed to the back.  The questioner asked Mr Matairi where C001 was.  He said that the beatings continued in the TDF after questioning.  Mr Matairi said that the beatings were brutal and at one point soldiers were betting that they could knock him with one punch.  When asked why his statement to the inquiry mentioned the betting but his statement to the Royal Military Police did not mention Mr Matairi said that he had always mentioned this and suggested that the interpreter may not have conveyed this.

Mr Matairi said that, initially, he was in the same room as Baha Mousa but that he realised that Baha Mousa had been removed form the room when he heard him shouting 'damn, damn.' and  'I will die, I have children.  I have a dead wife.'  Mr Matairi learnt of Baha Mousa's death at Camp Bucca.

Mr Matairi said that all the detainees were given breakfast on the third morning then rehooded.  He said that the other detainees were then beaten but that he was not beaten as a doctor said this might kill him.  When questioned, Mr Matairi was vague as to whether he had been rehooded; hiss witness statement stated that he had not been rehooded after breakfast.

Mr Matairi said that when the soldiers first came to the hotel that he had a small hernia but due to the kicks to the abdomen received at the TDF this developed into quite a large hernia with swelling.  He said that he could not walk on his leg as a result of the beatings and that all his ribs were broken; he was given valium to help him sleep.  Photographs were then shown to the court showing bruising to his back which he said had been caused by kicks and punches.

Mr Garnham, counsel for the MoD, then questioned Mr Matairi.  His witness statement to the Royal Military Police did not state that the doctor (who examined him) told the soldiers that if they continued to beat him he might die; Mr Matairi retorted that he had told this to the Royal Military Police.  When asked, he confirmed he was given food once, on the third day.  His witness statement to the Royal Military Police states at one stage that he was able to sleep; Mr Matairi said he did not sleep.

Mr Ashley then questioned Mr Matairi.  He confirmed that he was not wearing shoes when taken to the questioner.   When asked whether he complained to the questioner about the abuse he received he said ' My appearance would speak louder than any words.  My clothes were torn and the bruises were covering me.'  Mr Matairi confirmed that his face had no bruises or marks when taken to the questioner.

Mr Topolski then questioned Mr Matairi.  Mr Matairi was told that in his statement to the High Court that he said the soldiers were shouting 'terrorists, terrorists';  Mr Matairi retorted that he had never said this.