Brutal
treatment of POWs by British troops witnessed by
Danish soldiers

On
May 13, 2004 the Danish Ministry of Defence released a press statement on this, but it has been ignored by the British and
American media. Our thanks to reader
Jan
Dahl for this submission and translation.

[Danish] Ministry of
Defence Press statement

May 13th, 2004

THE Ministry of Defence has today been informed that a Danish military legal advisor in Iraq has been briefed about an episode involving two Danish military-assistant nurses, who were undergoing
“on-the-job-training” at a British field hospital in Basra during September 2003.

The latter observed and reported the following: Two Iraqis had been brought to the field hospital, after being exposed to a heavy-handed, unauthorized field interrogation by a British unit. According to the report, one of the Iraqis subsequently died from his injuries.

[Soeren Gade]Defence
Minister Søren Gade
[right] states:

“I have, immediately after receiving
briefing about this case, asked the Defence
Command to give a full account, especially
including why I had not been informed of this
immediately. The Defence Command has now
informed me that the Danish military judicial
advisor today has explained that at the time of
the incident she immediately made inquiries of
the British authorities and was told that the
incident had already been investigated.

Since
there was no further involvement of Danish
soldiers, the episode was not reported home
[to Defence Command].”

Due to the topical interest and media attention I have requested Defence Command to obtain as much information on the case as possible.

Defence Command reports that the British
Military authorities have agreed to make all necessary information available, in order to provide complete details on the case.

The report demonstrates the wariness and responsible action of the Danish soldiers, although the event roughly cannot be seen as being within Danish responsibility.”

Contact person in the Danish
Ministry of Defense is public relations office
Jacob Winther, telephone (+45) 25 27 45
23.


[Original
Danish:]

Forsvarsministeriet Pressemeddelelse

13. maj 2004

Forsvarsministeriet har i dag fået oplyst, at en dansk militærjuridisk rådgiver i
Irak har været orienteret om en episode, som to danske, militære sygehjælpere under
“on-the-job-training” på et britisk felthospital i Basra i september 2003 har observeret. To irakere skulle angiveligt være blevet bragt til felthospitalet efter at have været udsat for en hårdhændet behandling under en uautoriseret feltafhøring ved en britisk enhed.

Efter det oplyste skulle den ene iraker efterfølgende være død af sine skader.

Forsvarsminister
Søren Gade udtaler:

“Jeg har straks efter, at jeg i eftermiddag blev orienteret om denne sag, bedt Forsvarskommandoen om en redegørelse, herunder hvorfor dette ikke blev rapporteret straks. Forsvarskommandoen har nu informeret mig om, at den danske militærjuridiske rådgiver i dag har oplyst, at hun dengang straks henvendte sig til de britiske myndigheder og fik at vide, at hændelsen allerede blev efterforsket. Da der endvidere ikke var danske soldater involveret, blev episoden ikke rapporteret hjem.

På grund af emnets aktualitet og mediebevågenhed har jeg anmodet
Forsvarskommandoen om at tilvejebringe flest mulige oplysninger i sagen. Forsvarskommandoen oplyser, at de britiske militære myndigheder har indvilliget i at stille alle nødvendige oplysninger til rådighed for at få
sagen fuldstændig belyst. Episoden viser, at de danske soldater er årvågne og har optrådt ansvarligt, selvom hændelsen egentlig ikke kan anses for et dansk anliggende.”

Kontaktperson i
Forsvarsministeriet er pressechef Jacob
Winther, telefon 25 27 45 23.