British Military Files Reveal Torture Links Between Oman and Northern Ireland in 1970s
Newly declassified British military files have exposed connections between the use of torture by British forces in Oman and Northern Ireland during the 1970s. These documents reveal that an army major, John Burgess, who led severe interrogations in the Gulf, later held a senior role in a secretive intelligence unit in Northern Ireland during the Troubles. The interrogations in Oman were part of a counter-insurgency campaign supporting Sultan Qaboos, a pro-British dictator installed after an MI6-backed coup in 1970. The UK's involvement was driven by a desire to secure oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz. British planners assisted Qaboos in annexing Musandam in 1970, an act resisted by the indigenous Shihuh people. Elite SAS troops were deployed to Musandam in December 1970 to apprehend suspected rebels. Detainees were subjected to methods such as sensory deprivation, including hooding and bombardment with noise, with one interrogation lasting 84 hours. These techniques were later applied in Northern... 
