Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
Los Angeles Times
February 23, 2008 By Associated Press
LONDON — Lawyers released evidence Friday that they say shows British soldiers may have tortured and executed as many as 20 Iraqis after a battle in 2004, the most serious allegations of abuse made against British forces in Iraq.
Attorneys for five surviving Iraqi men detained by British troops after the battle say witness testimony, death certificates and video all support the claims. They are demanding a public inquiry.
The British military strongly denies the accusations, and says the dead were insurgents killed after ambushing British troops.
"We are of the view that our clients' allegations that the British army is responsible for the torture and death of up to 20 Iraqis may well be true," said Martyn Day, a lawyer for the five, who say they were detained at the British army's Camp Abu Naji, a base since turned over to Iraqi control near the southern city of Amarah, at the time of the alleged executions.
Day and another attorney, Phil Shiner, are representing the five men in a suit against the British military. All say they were laborers innocently caught up in the violence.
The Ministry of Defense says British soldiers fought Iraqi insurgents after a convoy was ambushed along the main road between Baghdad and Basra. The military said three British troops were wounded in the close-quarter fighting. Several soldiers have been decorated for bravery in the battle.
February 23, 2008 By Associated Press
LONDON — Lawyers released evidence Friday that they say shows British soldiers may have tortured and executed as many as 20 Iraqis after a battle in 2004, the most serious allegations of abuse made against British forces in Iraq.
Attorneys for five surviving Iraqi men detained by British troops after the battle say witness testimony, death certificates and video all support the claims. They are demanding a public inquiry.
The British military strongly denies the accusations, and says the dead were insurgents killed after ambushing British troops.
"We are of the view that our clients' allegations that the British army is responsible for the torture and death of up to 20 Iraqis may well be true," said Martyn Day, a lawyer for the five, who say they were detained at the British army's Camp Abu Naji, a base since turned over to Iraqi control near the southern city of Amarah, at the time of the alleged executions.
Day and another attorney, Phil Shiner, are representing the five men in a suit against the British military. All say they were laborers innocently caught up in the violence.
The Ministry of Defense says British soldiers fought Iraqi insurgents after a convoy was ambushed along the main road between Baghdad and Basra. The military said three British troops were wounded in the close-quarter fighting. Several soldiers have been decorated for bravery in the battle.