Dead Iraqi's family sues MoD
Thu 7 Jun 2007 12pm
The family of an Iraqi man beaten to death in British custody is to sue the Ministry of Defence (MoD) it has been revealed.
Baha Mousa, 26, died in Basra in 2003 after being mistreated at the hands of the Queen's Lancashire Regiment.
Now a lawyer acting on behalf of his father and orphaned children is claiming "hundreds of thousands of pounds" in compensation for Mr Mousa's death.
Personal injury lawyer Martyn Day, representing the Mousa family along with eight other Iraqi men who claim they also suffered abuse, has revealed he will file a claim of punitive damages within the next two weeks and remains confident that he will win the case.
"This incident has caused massive damage to the Army's reputation in Basra and probably around the world," he said.
"We will be saying to the court that they need to make an example to show the Ministry of Defence and the British Army that incidents such as these will not be tolerated."
Earlier this year, corporal Donald Payne, 36, pleaded guilty at a court martial hearing to inhumanely treating civilian detainees under the International Criminal Court Act 2001 for his role in Mr Mousa's death.