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British soldier charged with killing Iraqi citizen

A British soldier was arrested Tuesday on charges of having murdered an Iraqi civilian while serving in southern Iraq last year, police said Tuesday.

The Metropolitan Police said Kevin Lee Williams, 21, a trooper with the 2nd Royal Tank Regiment, was taken into custody at a London police station where he was charged.

He later appeared in magistrates court in central London on charges of murdering Hassan Said on Aug. 3 last year in the town of Ad-Dayr, 20km north of Basra, police said.

With no objections from the prosecution, Williams was granted bail on condition that he reside in designated army barracks, report daily to military police, surrender his passport and undergo a medical examination.

The trooper, who appeared in court in a blue suit, and spoke only to confirm his name and address, was told to reappear at the Old Bailey, London's central criminal court, on Sept. 28.

In a statement to parliament, Attorney General Lord Peter Goldsmith said the case involved "an alleged unlawful killing by shooting of an Iraqi citizen during the course of an arrest," and that it was brought to his attention after charges were dismissed by the soldier's commanding officer.

"This meant the case could not be tried by court martial," he explained. "I referred it to the Crown Prosecution Service, who asked the Metropolitan Police for assistance in collecting further evidence."

Before Williams' arrest was announced, Prime Minister Tony Blair hinted at his monthly press conference that a development in the case was in the offing.

Asked more broadly about allegations of criminality and misconduct against British soldiers in Iraq, Blair said:

"There are rules that our soldiers abide by, and incidentally the vast majority of them do the whole time, but anyone who commits a criminal offence will be charged, as we made clear."

"I think the attorney general may say a little bit more about this in due course," he added.

But Blair stressed: "The vast majority of British soldiers in Iraq, as elsewhere, are absolute heroes who do a fantastic job."

Several British soldiers are known to be under investigation for alleged wrongdoing in southern Iraq, but the government has insisted that there has been no systematic abuse of civilians.
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