UK soldiers up for war crimes
2005-07-19 22:00
London - Three British soldiers will be tried in a military court in Britain on the war crimes charge of abusing Iraqi prisoners in Iraq, attorney general Lord Goldsmith said on Tuesday.
One of the three soldiers will also face manslaughter charges over the death of one of the prisoners, according to the office of the attorney general, who is the chief legal counsel to the British government.
Although charged under the International Criminal Court Act of 2001, the servicemen will face court martial in Britain rather than being tried at The Hague.
The acts were committed between September 13-15 2003 against prisoners in the southern Iraqi city of Basra, the attorney general said.
One of the detainees, Baha Da'oud Salim Musa, was allegedly inhumanely treated and killed by one of those charged, corporal Donald Payne, 34, of the Queen's Lancashire regiment.
Payne is also alleged to have inhumanely treated other detainees.
He now faces charges of manslaughter, inhuman treatment of persons -
the ICC Act offence - and perverting the course of justice.
It is further alleged that two other servicemen inhumanely treated the prisoners, who sustained injuries following repeated assaults.
Lance corporal Wayne Crowcroft, 21, and private Darren Fallon, 22, both of the Queen's Lancashire regiment, are also charged under the ICC Act.