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| Iraq-Jordan |
| Four British squaddies face court martial on charges of sexually assaulting Iraqis |
| 2004-06-15 |
| Four soldiers from the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers are to face a court martial on charges of abusing and sexually assaulting Iraqi civilians said the Attorney General, Lord Goldsmith. The charges follow the arrest of a soldier who took photographs to a high street shop to be developed. Lord Goldsmith said that four more cases were likely to be referred to Army prosecutors "in the very near future". Reports at the time said that one photograph appeared to show a man stripped to the waist and suspended high in the air by a rope attached to a fork-lift truck. Two others appeared to show male Iraqis forced into sexual positions by their captors. A fourth picture was said to show two naked Iraqis cowering on the ground. In a written statement to Parliament, Lord Goldsmith said the indecent assault charge "apparently involves making the victims engage in sexual activity between themselves". He said the case concerned conduct "alleged to have occurred while the civilians were being temporarily detained but not in a prison or detention facility". The soldiers will be tried in public but there was no announcement about whether the military court would sit in Iraq or in Britain. A total of 74 more cases of civilian deaths, injuries or alleged ill-treatment of Iraqis in British custody has been investigated. Seven cases await a decision to prosecute and 31 have been concluded with a decision to take no further action. The announcement that charges were being brought was highly embarrassing for the Government and a setback for Tony Blair in his efforts to demonstrate that the situation in Iraq was improving. Ministers are concerned that the allegations will be seen as the "Britain’s Abu Ghraib" and could inflame an already tense situation in Iraq as this month’s transfer of power approaches. The Government is determined to demonstrate that abuse will not be tolerated and that severe action will be taken if the offences of ill treatment are proved. Lord Goldsmith’s statement follows the controversy over photographs published by the Daily Mirror of members of Queen’s Lancashire Regiment allegedly abusing Iraqi prisoners. Although those photographs were shown to be fake, regimental sources say that "five or six" members of the Queen’s Lancashire Regiment are being investigated over allegations of abuse. A further case involving the death of an Iraqi while he was being arrested has been referred to the Crown Prosecution Service, which has asked the Metropolitan Police to investigate. The regiment is not known but the soldier or soldiers involved have already been exonerated by their commanding officer, meaning that they cannot be tried by court martial. Lord Goldsmith said that three other cases involving Iraqi civilians had been referred to the Army Prosecuting Authority. These were being "actively" considered. The Attorney General supervises the Army Prosecuting Authority, which is independent of the military chain of command. It was set up in 1997 after the previous prosecuting arrangements were found to breach the European convention on human rights. Once the authority concludes that a prosecution is in the public interest and that there is sufficient evidence to proceed, it decides whether there should be a district court martial or a general court martial. Each consists of a civilian judge advocate sitting with serving military officers. A district court martial has fewer military members and more restricted sentencing powers than a general court martial. The Contempt of Court Act applies to courts martial, whether they sit in Britain or abroad, in the same way as it does to jury trials. |
| Posted by:Bulldog |