Soldier hit screaming Iraqis to create 'choir of pain', court martial is told

Witnesses said Corporal Donald Payne, 35, enjoyed conducting what he called "the choir".

On Tuesday, Payne became the first British serviceman to admit a war crime, that of treating Iraqi prisoners inhumanely. But he denies two further charges, manslaughter and perverting the course of justice.

Formerly of the Queen's Lancashire Regiment (QLR), which is now the Duke of Lancaster's Regiment, Payne is alleged to have killed 26-year-old hotel worker Baha Musa following a prolonged spree of abuse.

"Cpl Payne lies at the centre of this case," Julian Bevan, QC, told the court, describing how Payne's prisoners were beaten to order, and for show, until they screamed in pain.

"Cpl Payne plainly enjoyed conducting what he called 'the choir'... systematically assaulting each of the Iraqi civilian detainees in turn ... causing each one to shriek or groan, their noises constituting the music."

The court heard he and the other guards made no effort to conceal what he was doing.

The "total openness" of the abuse suggested Payne "did what he liked with impunity, with no fear of repercussion", claimed Mr Bevan.

Mr Bevan told the court martial, at Bulford Camp, on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire: "One could be forgiven for believing it was just accepted practice."

The court heard how Mr Musa came in for particularly severe treatment for repeatedly removing his handcuffs in what Payne believed was a bid to escape from the building where the detainees, suspected insurgents, were being held.

It was after one of these apparent attempts that Mr Musa died as a result of Payne's efforts to re-cuff him, Mr Bevan said.

"Cpl Payne suddenly grabbed Mr Musa's head and banged it against the wall about three times," Mr Bevan told the hearing's seven-man panel.

But Mr Musa continued to struggle and Payne kicked him twice in the ribs, the court was told. Describing Mr Musa's dying moments, Mr Bevan said: "Following the kick in the ribs, Pte Cooper [another soldier helping to restrain Mr Musa], with the help of Cpl Payne, managed to cuff Mr Musa.

"Once he had been handcuffed, they sat him up against a wall and released him from their grip. Mr Musa slumped and immediately it was apparent he was in a serious condition. He had stopped breathing."

Mr Musa suffocated when he was forced to the floor with his arms behind his back as the soldiers tried to cuff him, the prosecution alleges. Just after the death, the trial heard, Payne told the soldiers: "If anything comes of this, just say he banged his own head against the wall."

The court also heard how he had singled out another man called Kifah Taha Mutairi, whom he dubbed "grandad" as he was the oldest of the prisoners.

The prosecutor told the court of an account given by a visiting senior aircraftsman, Scott Hughes. He said he saw Payne repeatedly kicking "grandad" and at one point trying to gouge his eyes out with his fingers, all because he apparently could not do what Payne wanted him to do, the court heard. He also saw Payne deliver karate chops on his neck and when he started sobbing, Payne told him to "sit the f*** up", Mr Bevan told the court.

Payne is one of seven soldiers being tried at Bulford Camp. He is one of three accused of a war crime, a legal first in Britain.

Payne's six co-defendants all plead not guilty to the charges.

Lance Corporal Wayne Crowcroft, 22, of the Duke of Lancaster's Regiment, denies a charge of inhumane treatment, as does Private Darren Fallon, 23, of the same regiment.

Sergeant Kelvin Stacey, 29, of the Duke of Lancaster's Regiment, is accused of assault occasioning actual bodily harm with an alternative count of common assault. Major Michael Peebles, 35, and Warrant Officer Mark Davies, 37, both of the Intelligence Corps, each face a charge of negligently performing a duty. Colonel Jorge Mendonca MBE, 42, former commander of the Queen's Lancashire Regiment, is accused of negligently performing a duty.

The case was adjourned until today.