This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/uk/6360261.stm
The article has changed 8 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
Version 0 | Version 1 |
---|---|
UK soldiers cleared of Iraq abuse | |
(30 minutes later) | |
Charges have been dropped against five out of seven soldiers on trial over allegations of abusing Iraqi civilians. | Charges have been dropped against five out of seven soldiers on trial over allegations of abusing Iraqi civilians. |
Col Jorge Mendonca MBE, the highest-ranking British serviceman in recent history to face a court martial, was cleared along with four of his men. | Col Jorge Mendonca MBE, the highest-ranking British serviceman in recent history to face a court martial, was cleared along with four of his men. |
The court martial judge at Bulford Camp in Wiltshire ruled that the five soldiers had no case to answer. | The court martial judge at Bulford Camp in Wiltshire ruled that the five soldiers had no case to answer. |
The seven men had stood accused of abusing Iraqi detainees leading to the death of hotel receptionist Baha Mousa. | The seven men had stood accused of abusing Iraqi detainees leading to the death of hotel receptionist Baha Mousa. |
Col Mendonca, former commander of the Queen's Lancashire Regiment (QLR), had faced charges of negligently performing a duty. | |
He had been accused of failing to ensure his men did not ill-treat Iraqi detainees in Basra in September 2003. | He had been accused of failing to ensure his men did not ill-treat Iraqi detainees in Basra in September 2003. |
Alleged abuse | |
It was claimed that some of the colonel's men abused the group of Iraqis after their arrest during a counter-insurgency operation. | It was claimed that some of the colonel's men abused the group of Iraqis after their arrest during a counter-insurgency operation. |
They had been arrested on 14 September at the Haitham Hotel, Basra, where the army had found weapons including rifles, bayonets and suspected bomb-making equipment. | They had been arrested on 14 September at the Haitham Hotel, Basra, where the army had found weapons including rifles, bayonets and suspected bomb-making equipment. |
The trial centred on claims that the group of detainees was taken to a temporary detention centre where they were held for 36 hours and repeatedly beaten while handcuffed and forced to wear sacks on their heads. | The trial centred on claims that the group of detainees was taken to a temporary detention centre where they were held for 36 hours and repeatedly beaten while handcuffed and forced to wear sacks on their heads. |
Mr Mousa, 26, was among the group of detainees and later died. | Mr Mousa, 26, was among the group of detainees and later died. |
But Mr Justice Stuart McKinnon requested the court panel, the military equivalent of a jury, acquit the five soldiers of charges after "no case to answer" submissions from their legal teams. | |
Sergeant Kelvin Stacey, 30, of the QLR, was cleared of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and common assault. | |
And L/Cpl Wayne Crowcroft, 22, and Private Darren Fallon, 23, both of the QLR, now merged with the Duke of Lancaster's Regiment, were both cleared of treating Iraqis inhumanely. | |
It was the first time this charge was brought against British servicemen under the International Criminal Court Act 2001. | |
War crime | |
The fifth soldier, Cpl Donald Payne, 35, of the QLR, had became the first British soldier to admit to a war crime after pleading guilty to inhumanely treating civilian Iraqi detainees at the start of the trial. | |
But he was cleared of Mr Musa's manslaughter and a further charge of perverting the course of justice. | |
However, "no case" applications made on behalf of two of the other soldiers were dismissed by the judge. | |
Maj Michael Peebles, 35, and Warrant Officer Mark Davies, 37, both of the Intelligence Corps, remain on trial. | |
They both deny charges of negligently performing the duty of ensuring the Iraqis were not ill-treated by men under their command. |