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| 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. |