The dossier charges that:
‘ “those who bear the greatest
responsibility” for alleged war crimes “include individuals at the
highest levels” of the British Army and political system.’
Among those named, states the Independent, are two former Defence
Ministry supremos, Geoff Hoon and Adam Ingram, Defence Secretary and
Minister of State for the Armed Forces, respectively, under Tony Blair’s
premiership, during the planning and invasion of Iraq and for most of
the UK’s occupation. General Sir Peter Wall, head of the British Army is
also named.
Shocking allegations have been compiled from the testimonies of four
hundred Iraqis:
‘representing “thousands of allegations of mistreatment
amounting to war crimes of torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading
treatment.” ‘
The document, lodged with the International Criminal Court at the
Hague on Saturday (11th January 2013)
“calls for an investigation into
the alleged war crimes, under Article 15 of the Rome Statute” and is the
result of some years of work by Birmingham based Public Interest
Lawyers and the European Centre for Constitutional and Human Rights
(ECCHR.). The submission:
“is the most detailed ever submitted to the
ICC’s Office of the Prosecutor on war crimes allegedly committed by
British forces in Iraq.”
In 2006 the ICC opined that:
“There was a reasonable basis to believe
that crimes within the jurisdiction of the court had been committed,
namely willful killing and inhuman treatment.” However, since the claims
were less than twenty cases, prosecutors declined to mount an
investigation.
Subsequently:
“hundreds of other claims have come to light, prompting
consideration of the complaint now. It is the start of a process which
could result in British politicians and generals being put in the dock
on war-crimes charges.” The:
“pattern of abusive treatment by UK
services personnel in Iraq continued over almost six years of military
operations.” When is a crime not a crime, one wonders, when it is “only”
in double figures?
Evidence is presented of:
“systematic use of brutal violence, that at
times resulted in the death of detainees, while in the custody of UK
Services Personnel.” The two law bodies claim:
“there is evidence of
brutality combined with cruelty and forms of sadism, including sexual
abuse, and sexual and religious humiliation”, with widespread use of
“hooding”, prisoners forced in to excrutiating:
“stress positions, sleep
deprivation, noise bombardment and deprivation of food and water.” (VN: Notice, not a word about the sexual abuse suffered by these Iraqi men when hooded, humiliated and filmed.)
All such techniques were banned under the government of Edward Heath
in 1972, after being used in Northern Ireland. Claims are that these
legally outlawed techniques were used:
“in a variety of different UK
facilities (in Iraq) … from 2003 to 2008.” (Incidentally, after
September 2007, the British stated that only had a small military
contingency remained, assisting in training Iraqis.)
Alleged tortuous treatment was compounded, seemingly, by:
“failures
to follow-up on or ensure accountability for ending such practices
became a cause of further abuse. The obvious conclusion is that such
mistreatment was systematic.”
The Independent quotes Professor William Schabas, human rights law
expert:
“What this application does is throw down the challenge to the
court to show there are no double standards. There is definitely a case
for an investigation by the ICC.” He suggested that
“there’s no doubt”
of war crimes committed by British forces in Iraq.
“People should be
worried.”
The UK Ministry of Defence and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office
both state that any allegations of abuse have been, or are being
investigated through various, including legal channels, with William
Hague emphasizing that there was no need for the ICC to become involved.
(VN: Oh, right..... LOL)
The ICC as a body has also come under fire, accused of only putting
on trial, or investigating largely Africans and ignoring other alleged
human rights abuses.
ECCHR Secretary General, Wolfgang Kaleck told the Independent:
“With
the current communication to the ICC we want to move forward the
criminal prosecution against those political and military leaders in the
UK who bear the most responsibility for systematic torture in Iraq”,
adding:
“The International Criminal Court in The Hague is the last
resort for victims of torture and mistreatment to achieve justice."
“Double standards in international criminal justice must end. War
crimes and other severe violations of human rights must be investigated
and prosecuted, regardless of whether they are committed by the most
powerful.”
According to Phil Shiner of Public Interest Lawyers, the actions of
British officials in high places, involved in the invasion, planning,
execution and occupation, are to come under investigation. :
“I think
we easily meet the threshold for these issues to be looked at, I would
be gobsmacked and bitterly disappointed if they don’t look at this.”
Geoff Hoon, Adam Ingram and General Sir Peter Wall could not be reached for comment.
A small sample of the eye watering allegations presented to the ICC can be found in the full article referenced below.
The full submission document, which the Independent has exclusively seen, will be released publicly on Tuesday.
Notes
(i)
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/exclusive-devastating-dossier-on-abuse-by-uk-forces-in-iraq-goes-to-international-criminal-court-9053735.html
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