Justice For Iraqi Father In A British Court Over His Son's Death

[NATO AIR]

justice is served in britain as well

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-1403633,00.html

Iraqi wins court battle over death in British jail
By Michael Evans, Defence Editor

THE family of an Iraqi civilian who was beaten to death allegedly by British soldiers while in their custody won a landmark case in the High Court yesterday that will have repercussions for Britain’s military operations in Iraq.
Two judges ruled that the Ministry of Defence was wrong not to have launched a full independent inquiry into the death of 26-year-old Baha Mousa in September last year.

He died, covered in blood and bruises, three days after he and six other employees of a hotel in Basra had been detained by soldiers from The Queen’s Lancashire Regiment.

Mr Mousa’s father, a colonel in the Iraqi police, who had to identify his son’s battered body, and relatives of five other Iraqi civilians allegedly killed by British troops, sought a judicial review, claiming that Geoff Hoon, the Defence Secretary, was in breach of section 6 of the Human Rights Act by failing or refusing to conduct an independent inquiry.

Lawyers for the Secretary of State argued that British troops in Iraq were not covered by the European Convention on Human Rights, which is enshrined in the Human Rights Act 1998. The Act, they said, covered only UK territory and the UK had no jurisdiction in Iraq. Christopher Greenwood, QC, told the court that applying the convention to British troops in Iraq would mean “war as it has never been fought”.

However, in a long judgment delivered yesterday, Lord Justice Rix and Mr Justice Forbes said that the Human Rights Act also covered territorial “outposts”, such as embassies and consulates, and that included prisons abroad directly under the control of British personnel.

They said that under article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights, there should have been an independent inquiry into the death of Mr Mousa, a hotel receptionist, which had not occurred “in the highways or byways of Iraq but in a military prison under the control of British forces”.

A murder investigation was carried out by the Royal Military Police, and the Army Prosecuting Authority has recommended that charges be brought. Lord Goldsmith, QC, the Attorney-General, is expected to make an announcement on the conclusions of the Mousa case in a few weeks.

However, the judges said that they could not accept the submission of Mr Greenwood that the investigation had been “adequate in terms of the procedural obligation arising out of article 2 of the convention”.

They said that there had been no public accountability and compared the “dilatoriness” of the RMP inquiry with “the progress and open public scrutiny which we have noted seems to have been achieved with other investigations arising out of possible offences in prisons under the control of US forces” (an implied reference to the alleged abuse of prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad).

In the five other cases where Iraqi civilians had allegedly been shot dead by British soldiers, the judges said that they fell outside the terms of the Human Rights Act. None had died in British custody but in separate incidents in southern Iraq, and in most of the cases the commanding officers concluded the soldiers had acted within the rules of engagement.

Although the judges rejected the applications from the five other families, they made it clear that they did not support the submission from Mr Greenwood that there were territories in the world, such as Iraq, “for which the convention was not designed and for which they might not be ready”.

THE RULES OF WAR

Rules of engagement for British troops in Iraq are spelt out in the High Court judgment. Such rules are usually classified


Described as “Card Alpha”, a guide for opening fire, it gives soldiers orders “to use no more force than absolutely necessary”


The card says: “You may only open fire against a person if he/she is committing, or about to commit, an act likely to endanger life and there is no other way to prevent the danger”


A challenge must also be given before opening fire, unless “to do this would be to increase the risk of death or grave injury to you or any other persons other than the attacker”


If a soldier opens fire, it has to be with “aimed shots” and he or she must fire “no more rounds than are necessary”, and “take all reasonable precautions not to injure anyone other than your target”


Trooper Kevin Williams, of the 2nd Battalion, Royal Tank Regiment, is the only British soldier serving in Iraq to have been accused of murder. He is charged with shooting an Iraqi civilian and his trial at the Old Bailey is expected in the spring