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| Britain |
| Iraq murder trial charges dropped |
| 2005-11-03 |
| The charges against seven soldiers accused of murdering an Iraqi civilian have been dismissed by a judge at a court martial in Colchester, Essex. He ruled there was insufficient evidence against the seven, accused of murdering Nadhem Abdullah. The 18-year-old was alleged to have died following an attack on Iraqi civilians in al-Ferkah, southern Iraq, in May 2003. The Parachute Regiment soldiers always denied murder and violent disorder. The trial has cost taxpayers an estimated £10m. Gilbert Blades, the solicitor defending one of the men, said the failure in the case was that there was no proper investigation into what happened. "He [the judge] identified the key factor and that was the lack of a proper professional investigation of the case," Mr Blades told BBC News. "It was lamentably bad and it's been highlighted and I think the lessons to be learnt are that with cases like this, with serious consequences, then they should be properly investigated. One witness at the court martial, Samira Rishek, a Marsh-Arab who had claimed to have been brutally beaten by the soldiers while she was pregnant, admitted to the court it was a "wicked lie". The court heard that Mrs Rishek, along with other witnesses, was paid $100 a day to give evidence at the trial and that she only agreed to give evidence after being told she would be paid. BBC correspondent Paul Adams said there was an "underlying sense" that some of the witnesses were "out to try and get something for themselves". A number of questions were going to be asked about why the trial had been mounted, he added. |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #2 The court heard that Mrs Rishek, along with other witnesses, was paid $100 a day to give evidence at the trial and that she only agreed to give evidence after being told she would be paid. BBC correspondent Paul Adams said there was an "underlying sense" that some of the witnesses were "out to try and get something for themselves". Paid witnesses? An amazing piece of military court high drama whahahhaa. Besoeker lifts a pint to the Regiment...Here's to your wives and sweethearts, may they never meet! See ya on the Drop Zone lads. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2005-11-03 10:53 |
| #1 Cue the bleating lefties and Human Rights Lawyers on the TV news tonight whining plaintively about the tactics of the British Army. I bet Shama Chakrabati is pissed about this one. Give them all medals! The court heard that Mrs Rishek, along with other witnesses, was paid $100 a day to give evidence at the trial and that she only agreed to give evidence after being told she would be paid. And who be doing the paying? |
| Posted by: Howard UK 2005-11-03 10:18 |