AN Australian man allegedly tortured by British troops in Iraq is to sue the British army in the High Court in London this year. Nouri Alwan, 48, is seeking damages against the Ministry of Defence over the actions of the Royal Regiment of Wales in Iraq in 2003. Alwan was held for three days in late 2003 after being caught up in a sweep by British forces of suspected Saddam loyalists in Umm Qasr before the Australian government arranged his release.
Alwan, who has a former wife and five children in Adelaide, has reportedly claimed that he suffered a broken rib, with a medical examination at a British detention centre in Basra confirming injuries to his abdomen and rib area. Alwan also said he was racially abused and forced to stand all night, half-naked, in an interrogation block.
Alwan was born and raised in Iraq but fled to Australia in 1999, claiming persecution from the Saddam regime which he opposed. He was later granted Australian citizenship and became an active member of Adelaide's Iraqi community.
He worked in the petrochemical industry and returned to Iraq in 2003 to work for the marine and oil company Intertek, inspecting oil cargoes leaving Iraq.