Video shows Iraqi police torturing Sudanese man

Video footage circulating online appears to show Iraqi police torturing a Sudanese man who they accuse of being a member of Daesh.

Police officers, some of whose faces are clearly visible on the video, are seen slapping, kicking and physically and verbally abusing the man who does not fight back. They later use a lighter to burn his beard and hair.

According to Sudanese news sites, the man is Musa Al-Bashir and he was subjected to violent torture after leaving a hospital where he was being treated for an injury to his leg during armed clashes near Mosul.

The Sudanese Foreign Ministry summoned the Chargé d’Affaires of the Iraqi Embassy in Khartoum yesterday and informed him of its protest against the torture of one of its citizens by Iraqi police.

The Sudan Tribune news site quoted the spokesman for the Sudanese Foreign Ministry, Qaribullah Al-Khader, who said that “the Iraqi Chargé d’Affaires expressed his regret and apologised for the incident,” in light of the security chaos that is taking place in parts of his country.

The Iraqi diplomat said “his government would launch an urgent investigation and bring that group to justice,” stressing “Iraq’s appreciation of the people of Sudan living in Iraq.”

The Sudanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that “the Sudanese embassy in Baghdad is monitoring the situation of the Sudanese citizen and is ensuring he is looked after. It will also transfer him to a safe area in coordination with the specialised Iraqi agencies.”