Inquiry launched into Iraqi detainee's death

By Catherine Bosley

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain launched a public inquiry on Monday into the death of an Iraqi civilian and the alleged mistreatment of nine others at the hands of British soldiers in southern Iraq in September 2003.

Baha Mousa, a 26-year-old hotel clerk, was beaten and died some 24 hours after he and six others were arrested by the British army during a sweep of hotels in the city of Basra looking for weapons.

The inquiry will seek to establish how Mousa came to die and will also examine the British military's use of banned techniques to attempt to break prisoners during interrogation.

Gerard Elias, a lawyer for Mousa's family, showed a video to the inquiry which he said was likely shot during the initial hours of the Iraqis' detention.

In it, several hooded men, their arms bound behind them, can be seen crouching in fear as a man in military uniform shouts at them, using foul language and screaming "get down."

The video was not visible to reporters at the hearing but was broadcast by TV networks.

"There can be little doubt that the detainees were the victims of physical assaults," Elias said in his opening remarks to the public hearing. "There is evidence that the detainees were made to endure disgusting conditions."

A post-mortem revealed Mousa sustained 93 injuries, including a fractured nose and two ribs, though pathologists differ on the exact cause of death.