British soldiers forced an Iraqi detainee to wear an orange jump suit and told him that he was to be executed at the US-run Guantanamo Bay camp, allegations in a report said yesterday.
The 23-year-old man alleged he was beaten and sexually abused by female and male soldiers and flown to a British detention center in southern Iraq, which he believed was the “war on terror” camp in Cuba, the Independent said.
The man’s case is among allegations being investigated by the UK’s Ministry of Defence that soldiers tortured Iraqi civilians, the newspaper said.
The ministry said on Friday it had launched “formal investigations” into allegations of abuse, but they must be allowed to be carried out “without judgments being made prematurely”.
The Independent said 33 cases of alleged abuse had been reported, including claims of rape, the use of torture techniques and physical assault.
The man was a security guard employed to patrol streets of the southern Iraqi town of Amara, when he was arrested by four soldiers in 2006, he claimed.
He alleged he was beaten and taken to a British base in southern Iraq, where he suffered more abuse, including being told to remove his clothes before a female soldier pulled his penis with force, while soldiers laughed and took photos.
“I was [later] given a dark orange prisoners outfit to wear ... [which] is worn by those who will be executed. I started screaming,” the man alleged in his statement.
“I thought I might be in Guantanamo ... but I have no idea how far it is from Iraq. I have heard if I went there I would not see anyone again,” he said.
It is unclear why the man — who was later released — was arrested.
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