Disturbing new allegations detailing the deaths of 30 Iraqi civilians after being shot or arrested by British soldiers have been sent to the International Criminal Court (ICC). Details of the victims, in what lawyers claim are 30 "Baha Mousa-style" deaths, have been lodged with the Administrative Court in London in the past few weeks and are now set to be considered by the ICC.
The cases will add to the mounting pressure on the UK, which is already under scrutiny over alleged war crimes in Iraq. Earlier this year the ICC announced it would start a preliminary investigation into claims of British war crimes after it received a dossier of allegations by Public Interest Lawyers (PIL) and the European Centre for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR).
The allegations come as the report of the Al-Sweady inquiry, which investigated claims that British soldiers committed "gross violations of the Geneva Conventions", including mock executions, is expected to be published. The inquiry report was asked to investigate whether British soldiers mistreated Iraqi prisoners captured after a battle in 2004.
The inquiry heard there was no evidence to prove that Iraqis were unlawfully killed while in the custody of British troops at Camp Abu Naji.
The fresh cases draw on hundreds of allegations of mistreatment amounting to war crimes of torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment by British forces in Iraq between 2003 and 2008. Among the cases are claims that a family was killed by British and Iraqi soldiers in a joint operation in Al Qurna.
Sabriya Majed Hmoud Alsaidi, a 39-year-old mother of two, was one of six members of the same family said to have been killed by British and Iraqi soldiers during the incident in March 2004. The case summary states: "The deceased's father, Majed, was shot once in the chest by a British soldier, he died immediately. The deceased's brother, Nathem, was shot by a British soldier in the head from behind and also died instantly."
The report claims that Danish forces which controlled the area "told the family not to reveal that it was a joint operation that involved British forces".
Another case claims that the widow of Nafea Mohammed Ramahdhan Al-Madmaji, 43, who died in August 2008, "has a death certificate and report which states that the deceased was killed by British soldiers". Hours after British soldiers entered her home in Basra in August 2008, she "found her husband dead and covered with a blanket. He had been shot in the head". His family "have suffered psychological and emotional distress" and "never recovered" from what happened, according to the legal submission.
Another alleged victim, 25-year old Haydar Ghali Mohammed Aldaraji, is said to have been shot by British forces in April 2008, after being caught up in a battle between British soldiers and militants. Hours later he was found dead in Al Jhamouri hospital, Basra. "He was covered with a British blanket and his feet were tied up with British handcuffs. The deceased appeared to have been tortured: he had stamp marks on his back and there were signs of strangulation." The suffering of his family "was indescribable" and his mother "collapsed when she discovered that her son had died".
The death of 30-year-old Thaher Sabti Thaher, who lived with his wife and two children in Basra, has also been submitted for review. The Iraqi father did not return home from work in March 2003 and was later found dead. Local people claimed to have seen him "talking to some soldiers when a soldier in a vehicle shot the deceased close to the heart".
Months later, his family "received a document from the British forces stating: the soldiers responsible were referred to a panel in July 2004 and it has been decided that there would be no charges, and the Crown Prosecution Service has chosen not to take any further action".
Hussein Radhi Hamadi was just 17 years old when he died in August 2006 – caught up in fighting between British soldiers and insurgents in Al Tuwaisa. "The deceased was shot in the arm, hand and kidneys ... The British forces saw the deceased on the floor and shot him through his neck and stabbed him in the chest with a knife. They proceeded to drag him for between 40-50 metres as they stepped on and kicked his body. Marks of their boots were left on the deceased's shirt." The document claims that a "forensic science report confirmed that the bullets were from a British weapon".
Phil Shiner, a PIL solicitor representing Iraqi victims' families, said: "The public were understandably shocked to hear the full story of the torture and abuse that led to the death of Baha Mousa [an Iraqi hotel worker beaten to death in British custody in Basra in 2003] when the Inquiry reported in September 2011. Now it has to face the fact there are at least 30 other deaths that have not been publicly investigated. The MoD needs to come clean and tell us how many deaths in custody it is aware of."
A Ministry of Defence spokesperson said: "The MoD gave the court a figure of three deaths in UK detention facilities and 11 other deaths in custody. We stand by that figure and utterly reject PIL's claims."
The Iraq Historic Allegations Team (Ihat), which is examining hundreds of claims of mistreatment by British soldiers in Iraq, including 53 allegations of unlawful death, said they were conducting an "initial analysis" of the fresh allegations.
The spokesperson said: "The process to properly consider each of these fresh allegations and whether a criminal investigation is appropriate continues and we will know more once that is complete."
By Jonathan Owen
