Wed, Jun 16, 2004 page7

• Four British soldiers face court-martial

  • THE GUARDIAN
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  Four British soldiers are to face a court martial charged with abusing prisoners in the first of what could be a series of prosecutions over the conduct of British troops in Iraq.

  The prosecution of the soldiers, from the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, was disclosed on Monday by Lord Goldsmith, the UK attorney-general, as military police are investigating fresh allegations of ill treatment by British troops after complaints by the Red Cross.

  Charges against the four soldiers include indecent assault, "which apparently involves making the victims engage in sexual activity between themselves," said Lord Goldsmith. They are also accused of military offenses -- prejudicing good order and military discipline.

  In a written statement in the House of Lords, the UK's upper house, the attorney general said the case "concerns conduct alleged to have occurred while the civilians were being temporarily detained, but not in a prison or detention facility."

  It involved "photographic evidence developed in this country and referred to the UK police," he said.

  Last May Fusilier Gary Bartlam, 18, was arrested and questioned by military police after allegedly taking a film for development at a shop in Tamworth, Staffordshire.

  The Ministry of Defence on Monday declined to name the soldiers.

  Goldsmith's statement said the trial would be held in a military court and open to the public. No date had been set.

  Photographs showed an Iraqi prisoner gagged and bound, stripped to the waist, suspended in the air by netting attached to a forklift truck. Other pictures showed simulated sexual acts involving stripped Iraqi prisoners and British soldiers.

  The First Royal Regiment of Fusiliers formed part of the Seventh Armored Brigade, the "Desert Rats," under the command of Brigadier Graham Binns.

  Goldsmith said Monday that three further cases had been referred to the army prosecuting authority and were "actively being considered."

  The authority was aware of at least four other cases which were likely to be referred to them in the very near future, he added.

  This made a total of eight cases out of 75 allegations being investigated into civilian deaths, injuries or alleged ill-treatment of Iraqi civilians, the attorney said.

  One case concerns the death in May last year of Baha Mousa, a Basra hotel receptionist. He died from internal injuries after a raid by soldiers from the Queen's Lancashire Regiment.

  Goldsmith also referred to another case of alleged unlawful killing by a British soldier. Since his commanding officer dismissed the charges against the soldier, the case cannot be tried by court martial.

  The case -- concerning the shooting dead last August in southern Iraq of Hassan Abbad Said -- is in the hands of the UK's Crown Prosecution Service and London's Metropolitan Police.

  Goldsmith said in his statement that the army prosecuting authority operated independently of the military chain of command and acted under his general supervision.

  Meanwhile, the ministry confirmed to the Guardian that the Red Cross has made a complaint about the treatment of Iraqis following a firefight on May 14 near the town of Majar al-Kabir in southern Iraq.

  The complaint related to the way "internees" were treated between the time they were arrested after the incident and the time they were transferred to the Shaibah detention center on the outskirts of Basra, according to the ministry.
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