Iraq hostage Britons recall ordeal

The group wants to bring Iraqi 'war criminals' to justice

British hostages held captive by Iraq during the Gulf War have spoken about their ordeal for the first time.

Their experiences at the hands of Iraqi troops a decade ago still haunt them, they told a news conference on Thursday.

It was probably the most frightening thing that ever happened to me in my life

Patrick, former hostage

Many of the former hostages are part of a pressure group called Indict that wants the governments of the UK, Europe and the United States to charge and try Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

One man, who gave his name only as Patrick, described how Iraqi troops stormed his apartment in Kuwait, held a gun to his head and pulled the trigger. The gun was not loaded.

"I was punched in the stomach, then in the groin," he said.

"It was probably the most frightening thing that ever happened to me in my life."

Suicide bid

Another former hostage explained how troops in the compound where he and 11 others were being held started digging a large hole in the sand.

They were told the hole would be their grave in the event of any attempted rescue.

The threat of war hangs over Iraq

They were also used as weapon shields and made to sleep next to large tanks full of chemicals.

One man's 10-year-old son was so traumatised after seeing a Kuwaiti hanging from a crane and by other atrocities he attempted suicide by jumping from a hotel.

A woman, who gave her name as Maureen, told how she was driven into the desert with her children convinced they were to be shot.

"It was a crime, against my person, against my children, my husband and so it should be brought to justice," she said.

Indict says the British government has never taken steps to charge Saddam for alleged violations of international law, although the Ministry of Defence conducted its own inquiry in 1991.

'Crimes against humanity'

Indict has spent five years compiling evidence of alleged war crimes and brutality by the Iraqi leadership.

Labour MP Anne Clwyd, who chairs the "Indict", said the group had gathered more than enough evidence to prosecute Saddam and other senior Iraqis for crimes against humanity.

"Top legal experts say that we have more than sufficient evidence to request an arrest warrant for Saddam Hussein," she said.

Ms Clwyd believes the route of international law is another way to achieve regime-change in Iraq.

The threat of war already hangs over Iraq depending on the outcome of the current visit by United Nations arms experts who are looking for suspected Iraqi weapons of mass destruction.

Last year Scotland Yard announced it would be investigating alleged Iraqi war crimes.

A criminal case would focus on the plight of 4,500 British citizens and thousands of people from other countries who were held hostage in Iraq and Kuwait a decade ago.