British Troops Face Abuse Charges

British Troops Face Abuse Charges
Alleged Assaults on Iraqi Civilians Echo Abu Ghraib Incidents
By Glenn Frankel
Washington Post Foreign Service
Tuesday, June 15, 2004; Page A16


LONDON, June 14 -- Four British soldiers face charges of assaulting Iraqi prisoners, including a charge that they photographed detainees whom they had forced to engage in sex acts with each other, Britain's attorney general announced on Monday.




In a statement to the House of Lords, Attorney General Peter Goldsmith said the case was the first of eight involving British troops that had been turned over to army prosecutors for possible trial. A ninth case, involving the killing of an Iraqi civilian who was beaten to death while in custody, was being examined by civilian prosecutors, Goldsmith said.

The armed forces minister told Parliament last week that the military was investigating 75 cases involving the deaths, injuries or alleged mistreatment of Iraqi civilians. Many of the allegations echo those made against U.S. military personnel charged with assaulting and mistreating Iraqis at the Abu Ghraib prison outside Baghdad, although British officials have insisted that the cases so far do not suggest the degree of systematic and widespread abuse allegedly practiced at Abu Ghraib. Officials have promised to investigate all allegations thoroughly.

The four soldiers, all members of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, are charged with assault, indecent assault and "prejudicing good order and military discipline." The alleged victims were Iraqi civilians who were being temporarily detained but were not held in a prison or detention facility, according to the attorney general's statement.

more
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A41737-2004Jun14.html

Please remove all U.S. and UK troops immediately!

4 Britons Charged With Abuse Will Face Trial in Military Court
By PATRICK E. TYLER

Published: June 15, 2004


LONDON, June 14 - Four British soldiers are to be tried in military court on charges of seriously abusing civilian Iraqi prisoners by assaulting them and forcing them to engage in sexual acts, according to a statement issued Monday by Lord Goldsmith, the attorney general.

The four soldiers are members of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, and the charges resulted from a tip in May 2003 by a photo-shop clerk who said she was sickened when she developed a set of photos from one of the soldiers after he returned from duty in Iraq. Lord Goldsmith's statement referred to the "photographic evidence developed in this country" that had then been turned over to the police.

The clerk, Kelly Tilford of Staffordshire, said publicly that the photos showed male prisoners forced to engage in sexual acts. One prisoner was photographed stripped to the waist and suspended in the air from a forklift.

"I felt sick when I looked at the pictures," Ms. Tilford said. "They were grim. I just felt awful."

Lord Goldsmith told the House of Lords in the statement that "the charges against the four include assault, indecent assault, which apparently involves making victims engage in sexual activity between themselves, and a military charge of prejudicing good order and military discipline."

....

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/15/international/europe/15brit.html


The May 2003 date is significant--much of what we've been hearing about from US torturers occurred later (October on, I think). Further evidence it fits the buzzterm "systemic" and wasn't a bunch of hillbillies as the official spin goes.

http://www.middle-east-online.com/pictures/big/_10298_british-troops-abuse-15-6-2004.


Four British troops face trial over Iraq abuse

Britain to court martial four soldiers for assaulting, sexually abusing Iraqi prisoners whilst being temporarily detained.

By Peter Walker - LONDON

The Army Prosecuting Authority (APA), which handles such cases independently from the military, had ordered the trial of four soldiers from the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers on June 11, said the statement from Goldsmith.

more
http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=10298
UK troops face Iraq abuse charges
June 15, 2004 - 8:30AM


"The charges against the four include assault, indecent assault, which apparently involves making the victims engage in sexual activity between themselves, and a military charge of prejudicing good order and military discipline," Goldsmith said.

The most serious relates to the death of 28-year-old hotel receptionist Baha Moussa, who allegedly died after being severely beaten by British troops while in custody in the southern Iraqi city of Basra last September.

A case connected to the alleged unlawful killing of an Iraqi in the course of an arrest has been referred to Britain's civil prosecution authority, the Crown Prosecution Service.

This happened because the soldier's commanding officer dismissed charges, meaning he could not face a court martial, Goldsmith announced previously.

more
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/06/15/1087244886417.html?oneclick=true


UK soldiers to face court martial on abuse charges

ALISON HARDIE
POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT
The lawyer Phil Shiner, who is acting for the families of 19 Iraqis allegedly killed by UK forces and seven people who say they were tortured, said last week that only an independent inquiry could get to the truth of what happened.

UK soldiers to face court martial on abuse charges

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http://news.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=678732004