Torture crisis grows

A photograph of an Iraqi man apparently beaten to death by US troops created a new crisis for George Bush and Tony Blair today.

It was taken at Baghdad's Abu Ghraib jail where American soldiers are accused of committing "sadistic and criminal abuses" against prisoners. It was published as American military sources admitted at least two Iraqis have been murdered there.

President Bush was fighting to save the coalition's credibility by making an unprecedented address on Arab television. The picture shows a body lying on a trolley, covered in ice and wrapped in Cellophane. His front teeth are missing, the nose appears to have been broken and both his eyes are puffed up and blackened. American staff sergeant Ivan Frederick, 37, wrote a letter detailing the man's treatment.

He said: "They stressed him out so bad that the man passed away. They put his body in a body bag and packed him in ice for approximately 24 hours in the shower."

The sergeant told of a clumsy attempt to pretend the man had died while receiving medical treatment. "The next day the medics came and put his body on a stretcher, placed a fake IV ( intravenous drip) in his arm and took him away." The body was said to have been dumped in a Baghdad street.

According to the soldier's account, in the New Yorker magazine, the man died in a room where the walls were covered in blood. The picture was taken by US troops. The man was among 25 Iraqis who American sources admitted have died in custody since December, 2002.

Investigations so far have shown 12 died from natural or "undetermined" causes while one was "justifiable homicide"-Another 10 cases are still being investigated. In Britain, the conduct of British forces came under the spotlight as the families of 14 Iraqis went to court to demand compensation.

And the furore over photographs in the Daily Mirror took a new twist as MPs summoned the paper's editor Piers Morgan to appear before MPs of the defence select committee.

The newspaper is under pressure from the Government to supply the names of two soldiers which the paper claims witnessed the beatings and took the photographs but it has so far refused.

In his TV address, President Bush will plead for trust and say he is also shocked and appalled by such incidents.

"This is an opportunity for the president to speak directly to the people in Arab nations and let them know that the images that we all have seen are shameless and unacceptable," his spokesman Scott McClellan said.

He added: "These images do not represent what America stands for, nor do they represent the high standards of conduct that our military is committed to upholding."