|
Three British soldiers to face 'war crimes' trial
A disturbing development. Three British servicemen are to stand trial under international war crimes legislation for alleged inhuman treatment of detainees in Iraq, Lord Goldsmith, the Attorney General, announced last night.The three soldiers were among 11 charged yesterday in relation to the treatment of two Iraqi civilians who died in British custody in separate incidents in 2003. It comes less than a week after six former chiefs of defence staff claimed that the handling of prosecutions in Iraq was motivated by political correctness. Col Jorge Mendonca after collecting his DSO last year All the soldiers, including those charged under the International Criminal Court Act, will be tried by courts martial in Britain rather than in The Hague. The most senior serviceman concerned is the former commander of the Queen's Lancashire Regiment, Col Jorge Mendonca, who is accused of negligence of duty. He is highly decorated, with awards including the Distinguished Service Order. Two Intelligence Corp interrogators who investigated one of the incidents have also been charged with negligence. Seven soldiers, including Col Mendonca, 41, will stand trial over incidents surrounding the death of Baha Mousa, a 26-year-old hotel receptionist arrested in Basra in September 2003. He was taken to British Army headquarters where he died the following day. A post mortem examination found strangulation marks, a broken nose and three broken ribs. Cpl Donald Payne, 34, Lance Clp Wayne Crowcroft, 21, and Pte Darren Fallan, 22, all of the Queen's Lancashire Regiment, have been charged with inhuman treatment under the International Criminal Court Act, as well as with perverting the course of justice. Cpl Payne is also accused of the manslaughter of Mr Mousa. Three others charged in relation to Mr Mousa's case are Sgt Kelvin Stacey, 28, also of the Queen's Lancashire Regiment, accused of assault; and Warrant Officer Mark Davies, 36, and Maj Michael Peebles, 34, both of the Intelligence Corp, are charged with negligently performing a duty. The remaining four soldiers have been charged with the manslaughter of Ahmed Kareem in Basra in May 2003. Mr Kareem was one of four suspected looters who were allegedly punched and kicked before being forced into a canal. Mr Kareem, who could not swim, drowned. Sgt Carle Selman, 38, now with the Scots Guards, Guardsman Martin McGing, 21, of the Irish Guards, and Guardsman Joseph McCleary, 23, also of the Irish Guards, have all been charged with manslaughter. A fourth guardsman, a 21-year-old lance corporal, has not been named because he has not been informed of the manslaughter charge against him. The three charges of inhuman treatment are the first to be brought against British servicemen under international war crimes legislation, which resulted from Britain backing the establishment of the International Criminal Court in The Hague. The trials would only have been held in The Hague, however, if Britain had been unable or unwilling to investigate the allegations itself. America refused to sign the treaty establishing the court because it did not want its soldiers to be liable to prosecution. A spokesman for the Attorney General's Office said that the war crimes legislation had been used because of the gravity of the alleged offences. The charges were announced in the House of Commons. The former chiefs of staff, speaking in a House of Lords debate last week, accused politicians, lawyers, the Ministry of Defence and the military police of ignoring the realities of fighting. The most recently retired, Admiral Lord Boyce, said that the Armed Forces were under "legal siege". "They are being pushed by people not schooled in operations but only in political correctness," he said. They were particularly concerned about Col Mendonca, who was 13 miles from the incident. Posted by: phil_b 2005-07-20 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=124488 |