ICC Investigates Hundreds of New Torture Cases by British Soldiers in Iraq

Hundreds of new cases accusing UK soldiers of torturing civilians in Iraq will be reviewed by the International Criminal Court, The Independent reported Sunday.

MOSCOW, December 14 (Sputnik) — The International Criminal Court (ICC) will consider hundreds of new cases accusing British soldiers of torturing civilians in Iraq, The Independent reported Sunday.

The new cases detail harsh methods of interrogation used by British forces in Iraq between 2003 and 2008, which were highly similar to those used by the US’ CIA. The torture techniques included sexual assaults, electrocution, sleep deprivation, and others.

In one of the cases, an Iraqi police officer died after British soldiers "forced his head into a bucket of cold water a number of times. He stopped breathing and died. His wife and children witnessed the soldiers killing him", The Independent said.

According to the documents obtained by the newspaper, there were over 70 cases of hooding between June 2004 and September 2008. Hooding is considered to be an act of torture when its purpose is sensory deprivation during interrogation, as it causes disorientation, isolation and dread.

The new data comes ahead of the official report publication on Wednesday into allegations that British soldiers unlawfully tortured and killed Iraqis. The report is expected to fuel anger against the British government, which reportedly was aware of the CIA torture techniques.

Earlier in December, the US Senate Select Intelligence Committee released a 500-page executive summary of the report that showcases interrogation techniques used by the CIA against the suspected members of al-Qaeda after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The interrogation techniques outlined by the document include waterboarding, death threats and threats of sexual assault, mock executions and other forms of torture.