UK medical tribunal: Iraqi doctor complicit in torture during Saddam era

An Iraqi doctor was "part of the machinery" of Saddam Hussein's brutal regime and was "complicit in acts of torture", a medical tribunal has found here. Mohammed Al-Byati carried out medical treatments on camp detainees in Iraq between December 1992 and March 1994, a fitness to practise panel held by the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS) found Thursday. The panel has heard evidence that the doctor visited camps and prisons and, whilst administering treatment, knew that some prisoners he treated had sustained injuries as a result of torture, and it was likely that the prisoners would be tortured again. It also heard that as a consequence of Dr. Al-Byati's involvement, he was "complicit in acts of torture." The panel has found that all the allegations against Dr. Al-Byati, 47, have been proved and will now consider whether the doctor, who has been working in the UK since January 2000, should be struck off the medical register. Dr. Al-Byati, who is suspended pending the outcome of the tribunal, appeared before the panel last Tuesday to deny the charges. He said he had been a junior doctor and was "terrified" of what would happen to him and his family if he did not do as he was told and said he did not know the people he was treating had been tortured. But Charles Garside, prosecuting on behalf of the General Medical Council (GMC) said the doctor was part of a "well known family" which supported the Saddam regime. Garside said he knew that his place of work within the Al-Khadymia compound of the Iraqi Intelligence Agency was a place where "horrific atrocities were committed." In a statement of its findings on the facts of the case, the panel said: "It has already determined that Dr. Al-Byati knew that some prisoners he treated had sustained injuries as a result of torture, and that after some of his visits and treatment it was likely that they would be tortured again. "It noted that Dr. Al-Byati attended for work on a daily basis. He undertook the duties he was ordered to carry out. The access to the clinic was guarded and he was not permitted to leave without an escort." The Panel has already determined that some of the people being seen by Dr Al-Byati (at that time) were being given treatment so that they might be tortured further." After hearing the allegations the doctor said: "The case is based on evidence from the Home Office but if you read the whole thing from the Home Office they have no evidence at all. "They have no evidence. That's why I am waiting for a chance to appeal the whole decision in a court of law".