British Defense Secretary to Answer Parliament on Abuse of Iraqis
VOA News
British Defense Secretary Geoffrey Hoon travels to Parliament Monday to address allegations that British soldiers abused prisoners in Iraq.
Mr. Hoon will appear before the House of Commons where both Liberal Democrats and Conservatives have demanded answers to Red Cross revelations that the organization weeks ago warned officials in Prime Minister Tony Blair's government of abuses.
Mr. Hoon will likely refuse demands that the government release the Red Cross report. Former Foreign Secretary Robin Cook told British television this Sunday morning that the public needs to read the report to determine the severity of the problem.
Most of the allegations of abuse have focused on the treatment by U.S. soldiers of prisoners at the Abu Ghraib prison. And the British Defense Ministry admitted today that three British soldiers interrogated prisoners there earlier this year. A ministry spokeswoman denies the interrogators were aware of the abuse at the prison.
Friday, the British newspaper The Daily Mirror carried a picture of an Iraqi man with bloodied teeth in the back of a military vehicle. The Mirror reported British soldiers poked prisoners in the eyes or punched or kicked them.
The Defense Ministry has confirmed it is investigating claims of prisoner abuse made by a Territorial Army reservist attached to the Queen's Lancashire Regiment. The ministry said the soldier met with military police after sharing the charges with The Daily Mirror.
British officials were already investigating photos published earlier in the Daily Mirror showing two unidentified British soldiers kicking and mistreating hooded Iraqi detainees.
Some British military experts contest the authenticity of the pictures, but The Daily Mirror says it stands by them.
Some information for this report provided by Reuters and AP.
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