A SCOTS-trained army doctor accused of a cover-up over the death of Iraqi detainee Baha Mousa has been branded a "criminal" who ignored the cries of men who were being tortured.
Dr Derek Keilloh is appearing before the Medical Practitioners' Tribunal Service accused of a cover-up over the death of Mr Mousa who was beaten up by British soldiers.
The doctor claimed he only spotted dried blood around the nose of the hotel receptionist after he was arrested by soldiers from the 1st Battalion Queen's Lancashire Regiment (1 QLR) in a swoop against insurgents in September 2003.
The tribunal heard yesterday from Ahmed Al Matairi. Speaking through an interpreter, he described how he and staff from the Basra hotel he co-owned – including hotel receptionist Mr Mousa – were detained and tortured by British soldiers.
Mr Al Matairi said he was taken to see the doctor after he had undergone days of beatings by soldiers who would kick him in the kidneys, legs and in a hernia.
He said the doctor warned the soldiers not to hit him any more or he could die. He said: "He just had a look at my hernia, leg, kidney and said to them don't hit me. He is a criminal. He should not be a doctor."
Mr Al Matairi said the doctor's medical centre was close to where they were all being tortured. He added: "He heard our cries and he didn't do anything."
Mr Mousa, a father-of-two, was hooded, handcuffed and beaten before he died 36 hours after first being taken to the detention centre at Army HQ in Basra.
He suffered 93 separate injuries – including fractured ribs and a broken nose, the tribunal has heard.
Dr Keilloh, 37, who graduated from Aberdeen University, supervised a failed resuscitation attempt of Mr Mousa in a desperate bid to save the detainee's life.
The tribunal has heard that a fellow medic, a corporal, remarked "Look at the state of him!" after Mr Mousa was rushed to the medical post, but the doctor – at the time a captain and regimental medical officer of the battalion – has always maintained he did not see the victim's catalogue of injuries.
Mr Al Matairi said he had been suffering from kidney stones and a small hernia before he was detained but the soldiers would "aim" kicks at his kidneys if they wanted him to fall to his knees. He said after days of torture his hernia had swollen to five or six inches and his leg, below the knee, had also swollen up.
Mr Al Matairi said despite his condition, the doctor gave him no pills. "He didn't give me anything," he said.
The hotel owner also described hearing Baha Mousa's final words. He said he was being kept in the room next door and was being tortured.
Asked by QC Rebecca Poulet, counsel for the General Medical Council, what his last words were, he responded: "Blood, blood, I am going to die. My children are going to become orphans."
Timothy Langdale, QC, representing Dr Keilloh, questioned Mr Al Matairi's version of events and accused him of "exaggerating". He replied: "How did I exaggerate? One person died, two others were in hospital. I didn't exaggerate."
Mr Langdale said statements taken from him in September 2003 appeared to contradict his evidence to the tribunal and also said there was no mention of some of the injuries he was to talk about later. Mr Al Matairi said he would have been "exhausted".
Dr Keilloh also faces charges that he failed to conduct an adequate examination of Mr Mousa's body after death and failed to notify a superior officer of the circumstances of the death. He faces similar claims relating to two other detainees who were injured that he examined after Mr Mousa's death.
Dr Keilloh denies misconduct.
The hearing in Manchester is scheduled to last four weeks.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article