A former Danish intelligence officer has given Ekstra Bladet access to hitherto undisclosed video footage showing that Danish troops witnessed the maltreatment of civilian Iraqis during Operation Green Desert in Iraqi in 2004.

The footage, which was recorded by Danish troops, shows an Iraqi prisoner being hit by an Iraqi gendarme and another prisoner being kicked. When the camera is turned on again, a Danish soldier says: “Did you see? They certainly get a beating” (In Danish: ‘Har du set, de får bare nogle hug’).

Operation Commanding Officer Lt. Col. John Dalby said on December 31, 2011 that Danish soldiers had not witnessed abuse.

DOCUMENTATION: See the footage here

But according to Ekstra Bladet, the footage was recorded by soldiers under his command.

Assistant Professor Peter Viggo Jakobsen of the Defence Academy says the video sequence is highly damaging, finding it difficult to believe that Dalby and the rest of senior staff were unaware of the abuse, given that it was filmed.

“(My) conclusion must be that Dalby has not told the entire truth about whether Danish soldiers have witnessed these violations,” Jakobsen tells Ekstra Bladet, adding that the disclosures “..do more damage to the military than it has already sustained”.

According to former intelligence officer Anders Kærgaard, Dalby had seen the recording. A colleague found it so disturbing that he showed it to Kærsgaard, who in turn showed it to his superior officer.

“He looked at me and said: “You know what this means”. And I did. We were the team that came after the Hommel case – so it could mean that the Danish battalion would be withdrawn from Iraq,” Kærgaard tells Ekstra Bladet.

Since 2004, the Danish military has rejected rumours of prisoner abuse during Green Desert.

Lt. Col John Dalby denies having seen the video in question.

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