Posted on 01/04/2007 1:40:06 PM PST by TexKat
LONDON (Reuters) - Nine British soldiers investigated over a filmed assault on Iraqi civilians after a riot in 2004 will not face criminal charges, the Ministry of Defence said on Thursday.
Video footage aired in February last year showed British troops beating and kicking four Iraqi men seized from a crowd of rioters, minutes after a mortar bomb attack on their camp in Al Amarah in southern Iraq.
Two soldiers were seen kicking the body of a dead Iraqi.
The footage was released by the News of the World and shown widely on British and Arab television.
The images sparked protests in the British-controlled province of Basra. Local politicians temporarily ended cooperation with British troops and demonstrators marched on the British consulate.
The Army Prosecuting Authority (APA) decided there was insufficient evidence to secure a conviction and that pursuing charges was not in the public interest.
"Having carefully considered all the evidence, and having sought the opinion of independent leading counsel, the APA has decided that the servicemen should not be tried by court-martial," the APA said in a statement.
The ruling was made in December but released by the Ministry of Defence on Thursday.
Investigators found there was insufficient evidence to convict six soldiers.
Evidence would support charging two soldiers with battery but there was a time limit of six months on such prosecutions and the incident occurred in April 2004, the APA said.
No criminal action would be taken against the soldier who filmed the incidents.
Two of the soldiers may be punished by the military over allegations they kicked the body of a dead Iraqi, it added, while the Army may also discipline the other soldiers.
The video footage was released at a time of heightened tensions between Iraqis and foreign forces in the wake of the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal.
Several U.S. soldiers have been convicted in relation to the abuse of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib. Photographs of the abuse were published around the world.
British troops in Iraq in 2006. The Ministry of Defense said that a group of British soldiers filmed beating up young Iraqi civilians will not face charges at a military court, but they might still be punished for their actions(AFP/File/Essa Al-Sudani)
Good. The "youths" deserved that beat-up.
Thank God. Now lets have the Pentagon skirts "man-up" a little.
"The images sparked.."
The story sparked..
The cartoon sparked..
The incident sparked..
The action sparked..
The rumor sparked..
Just to be proactive, they sparked themselves..
Ready made riot - just looking for an excuse.
Wasn't there like a powderkeg that got "sparked" or something that started WWI???
Maybe thats why they are mad...No powderkeg!!!
Man, where's an ArchDuke when you need one these days!!!
/sarcasm
Imagine what the Ethiopians have been doing, and what would have been caught on film if CNN twirps were around.
I think the Ethiopians probably would have had the good sense to shoot the CNN twerps first. We do not need enemy propogandaists embedded with the troops.
Islamocrazies don't need a reason to riot - they need an opportunity.
Morter attacks tend to make a man real pi$$ed off.Hunkered down in a hole or a shelter gritting your teeth as the rounds come in, adrenalin pumping with nothing to do but grit teeth.
By the nature of their conduct, it would seem that the Brits who did the kicking must have thought that some of these "youths" were acting as artillery observers for the Islamofascists on their morter station.
But by golly our soldiers will face charges of murder for the Haditha/taliban city ordeal- Cripes- I'm shocked the dems are letting the brit thing slip by- oh wait- that's right- the dems only hate our military- not others. http://sacredscoop.com
Our ally has common sense.
How about it?!
Ping
I am real glad these soldiers are off the hook. let us hope enough smart defense lawyers shall convince the JAG that our Marines likewise should face no charges, let alone any sentences. Sure looks like the Haditha Marine issue is going to go on for many months.
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