Iraqis protest alleged British beatings
(AP)
Updated: 2006-02-15 09:06

Shaker said British troops "were beating us with fists and batons and were kicking us" before taking the prisoners to a British base "where they also beat us and frightened us with dogs before releasing us before sunset."

He said he didn't report the treatment because he did not believe any officials would deal with their complaints.

"But when we saw this tape and the amount of anger it caused inside and outside Iraq, we decided to come today ... to sue the British forces and compensate us," he said. "Those troops humiliated us and violated our rights to demand jobs."

Relations between the British and the Shiite-dominated provincial administration have been strained in recent weeks after an uptick in attacks on British troops and moves by the British to crack down on Shiite militias that have infiltrated the police and security services.

Last month, British troops arrested four police officers, alleging they were involved in militia and criminal activities. Basra authorities had threatened to suspend contacts with the British over the crackdown well before the video was first reported in London's News of the World.

British military spokesman Capt. James St. John-Price said British authorities were trying to convince the local administration to reverse the decision.

"Decisions like these and reductions in patrols hinder the process of promoting security and economic reform and merely work to the detriment of the people of Basra," St. John-Price said.

In another development, the Basra council demanded the 530-member Danish military contingent withdraw from southern Iraq unless the Danish government apologizes for caricatures of Prophet Muhammad that were first published in Danish newspapers. Danish Defense Minister Soeren Gade rejected the demand.

The 40-member council is dominated by members of Fadhila, a Shiite party that considers al-Sadr's late father its spiritual leader.

Fadhila's support was crucial to Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari winning the Shiite nomination for another term by a single vote in the Shiite caucus Sunday. The move was tantamount to his re-election because the Shiites are the biggest bloc in the new parliament.

Also Tuesday, Saddam Hussein and three co-defendants said they had launched a hunger strike to protest the chief judge in their trial. Saddam said he had not eaten in three days, while his former intelligence chief and half brother Barzan Ibrahim said he had been on strike for two days. The claims could not be independently confirmed.