§ Lord Oakeshott of Seagrove Bayasked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Bach on 8 July 2003 (WA 31–32) concerning the arrangement for the transfer of prisoners of war, civilian internees and civilian detainees that was declassified on 11 November 2003, how many prisoners of war, civilian internees and civilian 150WA detainees have been transferred from the United Kingdom as the detaining power to the United States as the accepting power; and how many in each of those categories are still held by the United States as the accepting power; and [HL2859]
Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Bach on 8 July 2003 (WA 31–32) concerning the arrangement for the transfer of prisoners of war, civilian internees and civilian detainees that was declassifed on 11 November 2003, how the United Kingdom has enforced the responsibility of the United States as the accepting power for maintaining and safeguarding all such individuals; and how many visits have been made to such prisoners of war, civilian internees and civilian detainees, using Her Majesty's Government's full right of access; and [HL2861]
Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Bach on 30 April (WA 106–107), whether they now believe all persons captured by United Kingdom forces in Iraq and transferred to United States control have been treated humanely and decently; and what inquiries they have made and actions they have taken to ensure they have been so treated. [HL2862)
§ Lord BachThe UK transferred about 340 prisoners of war to the US in April 2003. All but two have subsequently been released. We are satisfied that both remaining prisoners are being treated humanely in accordance with the Geneva Conventions, to which the US is a signatory.
Between May and December 2003—when the UK divisional temporary detention facility was opened—almost all of those interned by UK forces for security reasons were held at the US facility in Umm Qasr. There was a continuous UK presence at the camp and we are not aware of any reports of deliberate mistreatment of UK internees there or elsewhere. The majority were released prior to December and the remaining few were transferred back into UK custody when the UK DTDF was opened.
Since December 2003 those UK internees transferred to the US have been held at the US facility of Abu Ghraib. All but four have been released. Two of those will be released shortly and we are continuing to have regular discussions with the US regarding the final two. We are not aware of any reports of deliberate mistreatment of UK internees.
The US do not hold any UK detainees.
§ Lord Oakeshott of Seagrove Bayasked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Bach on 8 July 2003 (WA 31–32) concerning the arrangement for the transfer of prisoners of war, civilian internees and civilian detainees that was declassified on 11 November 2003, how many prisoners of war, civilian internees and civilian detainees transferred to the United States as the accepting power have been repatriated or removed to territories outside Iraq; and why. [HL2S60]