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A Very British Killing: The Death of Baha Mousa
On 14 September 2003 Baha Mousa, a hotel receptionist, was arrested in Basra by British troops and taken to a military base for questioning.
Less than forty-eight hours later he was dead.
In A Very British Killing A.T. Williams tells the inside story of this crime and its aftermath, exposing the casual brutality, bureaucratic apathy, and instituional failure to hold people criminally responsible for Mousa's death.
What it reveals about Britain and its political and military institutions is explosive.
Less than forty-eight hours later he was dead.
In A Very British Killing A.T. Williams tells the inside story of this crime and its aftermath, exposing the casual brutality, bureaucratic apathy, and instituional failure to hold people criminally responsible for Mousa's death.
What it reveals about Britain and its political and military institutions is explosive.
298 pages, Paperback
First published October 18, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
August 13, 2015
BLAIRS BOYS IN BASRA
The particular killing that forms the subject of Andrew Williams book is that of Baha Mousa. Mousa, a young father living in Basra, was arrested with a number of others when arms were found in the hotel where he worked in the autumn of 2003. After more than two days of vile abuse and physical assaults (with a minimum of 19 soldiers involved) Mousa died.
Williams book, a forensic examination of this incident, comes in four parts. The first, situated in Iraq, and second part where we return to Britain, cover the investigation by the Royal Military Police who don't, even taking into account the difficult conditions, inspire much confidence, but still they are attempting to construct a case? Eventually 7 soldiers are charged including a senior officer, and a date for a court martial set. All this takes three years.
Williams expert eye on matters legal is readily apparent, and throws much needed light on the shady court martial that forms the third part of the book. All the prosecution witnesses from the army have developed a pretty comprehensive case of amnesia that no amount of prodding by the prosecution will cure; the Iraqi witnesses are subjected to protracted, aggressive questioning by the "best" legal minds in the country, who take brutal advantage of the fact that the Iraqis were hooded with empty hessian sandbags for almost the entirety of their ordeal. And if after that your not feeling thoroughly nauseated there's a whole barrage of witnesses heaping extravagant praise of the pass me the bucket brand on the most senior of the accused, Colonel Mendonca. Eventually the trial is brought to a halt by the judge. One soldier, Corporal Payne, undoubtedly a brutal thug, is sentenced to one years imprisonment on the single charge he plead guilty to at the beginning of the trial.
Thankfully the story doesn't stop with the farcial half-assed trial. A public enquiry is held under which 19 soldiers are directly implicated in the torturous treatment of the Iraqi detainees and the death of Baha Mousa. Senior officers, including the much drooled over Colonel Mendonca, are also deemed to have been negligent and indifferent to their duties vis-a-vis the Iraqi detainees. Unfortunately there are no criminal penalties for these cowardly thugs, and this belated (were by now eight years after Mousas murder) official acknowledgement of what really happened is the nearest that the Mousa family will get to justice.
"A Very British Killing" is a well written, fascinating and forensic look at one incident of barbaric criminal activity by members of the Armed Forces and the legal shenanigans that followed on. It's not just putting a single case (and in the authors opinion its highly unlikely to have been the only War crime committed by British forces in Iraq) under the spotlight, Williams looks at the broader question of why War-crimes such as those that led to the murder of Baha Mousa occur. Amongst those reasons such as poor or non-existant training, and an indifference to obligations under the Geneva conventions that runs through the military despite much rhetoric to the contrary, he also makes the point that it is virtually pre-ordained that these things happen in War. That is why War is illegal except under very particular circumstances which certainly didn't apply to the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Ultimately the biggest War criminals are those who initiate wars, in this case a certain Mr Tony Blair.
The particular killing that forms the subject of Andrew Williams book is that of Baha Mousa. Mousa, a young father living in Basra, was arrested with a number of others when arms were found in the hotel where he worked in the autumn of 2003. After more than two days of vile abuse and physical assaults (with a minimum of 19 soldiers involved) Mousa died.
Williams book, a forensic examination of this incident, comes in four parts. The first, situated in Iraq, and second part where we return to Britain, cover the investigation by the Royal Military Police who don't, even taking into account the difficult conditions, inspire much confidence, but still they are attempting to construct a case? Eventually 7 soldiers are charged including a senior officer, and a date for a court martial set. All this takes three years.
Williams expert eye on matters legal is readily apparent, and throws much needed light on the shady court martial that forms the third part of the book. All the prosecution witnesses from the army have developed a pretty comprehensive case of amnesia that no amount of prodding by the prosecution will cure; the Iraqi witnesses are subjected to protracted, aggressive questioning by the "best" legal minds in the country, who take brutal advantage of the fact that the Iraqis were hooded with empty hessian sandbags for almost the entirety of their ordeal. And if after that your not feeling thoroughly nauseated there's a whole barrage of witnesses heaping extravagant praise of the pass me the bucket brand on the most senior of the accused, Colonel Mendonca. Eventually the trial is brought to a halt by the judge. One soldier, Corporal Payne, undoubtedly a brutal thug, is sentenced to one years imprisonment on the single charge he plead guilty to at the beginning of the trial.
Thankfully the story doesn't stop with the farcial half-assed trial. A public enquiry is held under which 19 soldiers are directly implicated in the torturous treatment of the Iraqi detainees and the death of Baha Mousa. Senior officers, including the much drooled over Colonel Mendonca, are also deemed to have been negligent and indifferent to their duties vis-a-vis the Iraqi detainees. Unfortunately there are no criminal penalties for these cowardly thugs, and this belated (were by now eight years after Mousas murder) official acknowledgement of what really happened is the nearest that the Mousa family will get to justice.
"A Very British Killing" is a well written, fascinating and forensic look at one incident of barbaric criminal activity by members of the Armed Forces and the legal shenanigans that followed on. It's not just putting a single case (and in the authors opinion its highly unlikely to have been the only War crime committed by British forces in Iraq) under the spotlight, Williams looks at the broader question of why War-crimes such as those that led to the murder of Baha Mousa occur. Amongst those reasons such as poor or non-existant training, and an indifference to obligations under the Geneva conventions that runs through the military despite much rhetoric to the contrary, he also makes the point that it is virtually pre-ordained that these things happen in War. That is why War is illegal except under very particular circumstances which certainly didn't apply to the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Ultimately the biggest War criminals are those who initiate wars, in this case a certain Mr Tony Blair.
April 8, 2025
A horrible and depressing read. Not just a few rotten apples. A rotten barrel from top to bottom. The lawyers come out of this worse than the military. Shameful, horrible, but unsurprising given Hutton, Hillsborough, Orgreave, Grenfell, Post Office et al. Think things will change? Not a chance.
May 31, 2015
The central fact of this book and the one which one should never lose sight of is that a defenceless man was beaten to death by British troops whilst in captivity and many others were seriously ill-treated. That said, this book is weak. The author distracts the reader with needless descriptions and asides that are irrelevant to the central story. Who cares if "the courtroom reeked of new carpet and wood polish"? Secondly the author frequently uses rhetorical questions: "Is is a coincidence that...?" "Could it have been true that...?" well, how does the reader know? It's the author who has done the research and has accessed the documents and witnesses etc, and it is the author who should answer his own questions rather than dangle these rhetorical questions in front of us. The author should say "it was no coincidence because...." and tell us why. Thirdly some of the criticisms I think are misplaced. A legal system that commits to the principle that 'it is better for ten guilty to go free rather than for one innocent to be convicted' is bound to be weighed in favour of the defence and a skilful lawyer can get his guilty client acquitted, and as the author noted, the accused is entitled to the best defence he can find. (This is what was said after the acquittal of the policeman in Ian Tomlinson's case.) So all in all this book is a disappointment. I think it was perhaps aimed and a broader market and so the author felt it necessary to spice it up a little. It is not the type of work that i would expect from a professor of Law at Warwick University. This is a shame because the essential fact - that a defenceless man was beaten to death in a British army base in the full view and knowledge of many present - deserves serious consideration.
June 3, 2014
Concise, brilliant and devastating. For many the Iraqi hotel receptionist Baha Mousa has become the face of the kind of abuse and cruelty that all-too-often takes place when young, inexperienced soldiers find themselves in a dangerous, unstable war zone, and their commanders are tied up by an unclear and opaque set of rules. A.T. Williams book is as methodical and surgical as a post-mortem, carefully explaining the situation, introducing the characters, and with each chapter, heaping more and more scorn on a British legal, political and military culture that is at best unprepared, at worse utterly contemptuous of the laws of war when it comes to treatment of detainees. He takes us from the appalling beatings in Iraq, to the panicked reaction in Britain, to the farcical court-martial and whitewash that followed. While this book focuses on one case, his overarching point is that these types of cases are symptomatic of a culture that exists within the British Armed Forces, and that if nothing is done to redress this, we will see many more cases like Baha Mousa.
February 20, 2016
I grew up during the invasion of Iraq and remember the cheer of I and my classmates when helicopters flew over my Junior school to "go and get saddam"
Therefore, I am always eager to read about the prelude to the invasion and the saga that followed.
Whatever your views on the Iraq invasion, this book suggests that forces that invaded and occupied Iraq were trained for the set piece battles of regular warfare not the hearts and minds strategy of counter-insurgency.
This all begs the question what intelligence formed the basis of the invasion strategy? Did Shia Iraqi dissidents exaggerate the strength of Saddam's forces to get the west to commit to regime change and the installation of a pro-Iran shite regime ?
But that's another story...
Therefore, I am always eager to read about the prelude to the invasion and the saga that followed.
Whatever your views on the Iraq invasion, this book suggests that forces that invaded and occupied Iraq were trained for the set piece battles of regular warfare not the hearts and minds strategy of counter-insurgency.
This all begs the question what intelligence formed the basis of the invasion strategy? Did Shia Iraqi dissidents exaggerate the strength of Saddam's forces to get the west to commit to regime change and the installation of a pro-Iran shite regime ?
But that's another story...
March 30, 2013
A fascinating book and very enjoyable read, If the subject matter appeals to you I'd recommend this book.
May 21, 2014
Another interesting and knowledgeable read that once again got mired down in the politics of it all. But very, very good.
January 15, 2016
You can see why this was a worthy winner of the Winner of the Orwell Prize for Political Writing 2013.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews