Vonners
19-01-2005, 13:19
I find this to be very disturbing. I had thought that after Aden lessons were learned about the treatment of local populations.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4184279.stm
British Army chief condemns abuse
Chief of the General Staff Sir Mike Jackson give evidence
Sir Mike Jackson would not comment on the case
The head of the British Army has said he "condemns utterly" any acts of abuse, as three soldiers face charges of mistreating Iraqi civilians.
General Sir Mike Jackson would not comment on the case directly, but said all allegations were taken seriously.
Charges against the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers soldiers include forcing prisoners to simulate sex acts at a Basra aid camp in May 2003.
One has admitted one assault charge, but all other charges are denied.
Sir Mike would not comment directly on 22 photographs depicting the alleged abuse of Iraqi prisoners, taken from the cameras of five servicemen, which were shown to the court.
The court was shown 22 photographs depicting alleged abuse
Alleged prisoner abuse images
But he stressed only a "small number" of the 65,000 troops serving in Iraq had been accused of any mistreatment.
The general said the court martial's outcome would be studied to see if it raised any further issues for the army.
Sir Mike said: "We condemn utterly all acts of abuse. Where there is evidence of abuse this is investigated immediately.
"We have always made clear that the proper way of dealing with allegations of abuse by the armed forces is for them to be investigated by the service police and, as appropriate, prosecuted by the independent service authorities.
"I have every confidence in the military investigative and judicial system."
The photographs include a picture of two naked Iraqi men simulating anal sex with their thumbs raised to the camera and a photograph of two Iraqi men simulating oral sex.
The offences are alleged to have taken place at the aid camp, known as Camp Bread, on or around 15 May 2003, weeks after coalition troops had ousted Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's regime.
Lance Corporal Darren Larkin admitted one charge of assaulting an unknown man at the camp but denied another charge.
Corporal Daniel Kenyon and Lance Corporal Mark Cooley entered not guilty pleas at the court martial hearing the case in Germany.
It cannot be said that these photographs are of incidents that are anything other than shocking and appalling
Lt Col Nick Clapham, prosecuting
Charges against UK troops
Defence counsel for L/Cpl Larkin told the court martial he had always admitted responsibility for the "unacceptable and mindless" assault, which he said had "brought shame on his proud regiment and his proud family".
The three soldiers, who face a total of nine charges between them, are accused of abusing looters who were being detained at the camp in southern Iraq after attempting to steal powdered milk and food.
Lieutenant Colonel Nick Chapman, prosecuting, told the hearing the camp's commander Maj Dan Taylor had ordered looters should be "worked hard".
This breached the Geneva Convention, Lt Col Clapham said.
"The order to work by Major Taylor was an unlawful one but, even though the order was unlawful, had the defendants done no more they would not face the charges they face today," he added.
Evidence of the alleged abuse came to light when a set of photographs were left for processing at a shop in Tamworth, Staffordshire.
A developer called police because she was "disturbed by the content".
"It cannot be said that these photographs are of incidents that are anything other than shocking and appalling," Lt Col Clapham told the court.
The charges also include two relating to the alleged placing of a detainee on the forks of a forklift truck.
If found guilty, the trio, who are stationed at a British army base in Osnabruck, northern Germany, could be jailed and discharged from the army.
Perhaps inevitably some people in the media have described this as Britain's Abu Ghraib
BBC correspondent Paul Adams
They are being tried before Judge Advocate Michael Hunter and a panel of British officers in Osnabruck.
The case has been adjourned until Wednesday morning.
The court martial, which is expected to last three to four weeks, comes just three days after a US soldier was sentenced to 10 years in jail after he was found guilty of abusing prisoners at Abu Ghraib jail, near Baghdad.
Specialist Charles Graner was regarded as the ringleader at the centre of an abuse scandal at the jail.
BBC correspondent Paul Adams said it was inevitable that some people in the media would describe the case involving the UK soldiers as "Britain's Abu Ghraib".
But it was important to stress "at this extremely early stage" in proceedings that nothing heard so far pointed to "an institutional quality" that was a key aspect of the Abu Ghraib affair, he said.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4184279.stm
British Army chief condemns abuse
Chief of the General Staff Sir Mike Jackson give evidence
Sir Mike Jackson would not comment on the case
The head of the British Army has said he "condemns utterly" any acts of abuse, as three soldiers face charges of mistreating Iraqi civilians.
General Sir Mike Jackson would not comment on the case directly, but said all allegations were taken seriously.
Charges against the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers soldiers include forcing prisoners to simulate sex acts at a Basra aid camp in May 2003.
One has admitted one assault charge, but all other charges are denied.
Sir Mike would not comment directly on 22 photographs depicting the alleged abuse of Iraqi prisoners, taken from the cameras of five servicemen, which were shown to the court.
The court was shown 22 photographs depicting alleged abuse
Alleged prisoner abuse images
But he stressed only a "small number" of the 65,000 troops serving in Iraq had been accused of any mistreatment.
The general said the court martial's outcome would be studied to see if it raised any further issues for the army.
Sir Mike said: "We condemn utterly all acts of abuse. Where there is evidence of abuse this is investigated immediately.
"We have always made clear that the proper way of dealing with allegations of abuse by the armed forces is for them to be investigated by the service police and, as appropriate, prosecuted by the independent service authorities.
"I have every confidence in the military investigative and judicial system."
The photographs include a picture of two naked Iraqi men simulating anal sex with their thumbs raised to the camera and a photograph of two Iraqi men simulating oral sex.
The offences are alleged to have taken place at the aid camp, known as Camp Bread, on or around 15 May 2003, weeks after coalition troops had ousted Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's regime.
Lance Corporal Darren Larkin admitted one charge of assaulting an unknown man at the camp but denied another charge.
Corporal Daniel Kenyon and Lance Corporal Mark Cooley entered not guilty pleas at the court martial hearing the case in Germany.
It cannot be said that these photographs are of incidents that are anything other than shocking and appalling
Lt Col Nick Clapham, prosecuting
Charges against UK troops
Defence counsel for L/Cpl Larkin told the court martial he had always admitted responsibility for the "unacceptable and mindless" assault, which he said had "brought shame on his proud regiment and his proud family".
The three soldiers, who face a total of nine charges between them, are accused of abusing looters who were being detained at the camp in southern Iraq after attempting to steal powdered milk and food.
Lieutenant Colonel Nick Chapman, prosecuting, told the hearing the camp's commander Maj Dan Taylor had ordered looters should be "worked hard".
This breached the Geneva Convention, Lt Col Clapham said.
"The order to work by Major Taylor was an unlawful one but, even though the order was unlawful, had the defendants done no more they would not face the charges they face today," he added.
Evidence of the alleged abuse came to light when a set of photographs were left for processing at a shop in Tamworth, Staffordshire.
A developer called police because she was "disturbed by the content".
"It cannot be said that these photographs are of incidents that are anything other than shocking and appalling," Lt Col Clapham told the court.
The charges also include two relating to the alleged placing of a detainee on the forks of a forklift truck.
If found guilty, the trio, who are stationed at a British army base in Osnabruck, northern Germany, could be jailed and discharged from the army.
Perhaps inevitably some people in the media have described this as Britain's Abu Ghraib
BBC correspondent Paul Adams
They are being tried before Judge Advocate Michael Hunter and a panel of British officers in Osnabruck.
The case has been adjourned until Wednesday morning.
The court martial, which is expected to last three to four weeks, comes just three days after a US soldier was sentenced to 10 years in jail after he was found guilty of abusing prisoners at Abu Ghraib jail, near Baghdad.
Specialist Charles Graner was regarded as the ringleader at the centre of an abuse scandal at the jail.
BBC correspondent Paul Adams said it was inevitable that some people in the media would describe the case involving the UK soldiers as "Britain's Abu Ghraib".
But it was important to stress "at this extremely early stage" in proceedings that nothing heard so far pointed to "an institutional quality" that was a key aspect of the Abu Ghraib affair, he said.