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Soldier cleared of assault charge Soldier cleared of assault charge
(about 1 hour later)
A soldier has been cleared of assaulting an Iraqi detainee. A soldier was cleared of an assault charge against an Iraqi detainee.
Sergeant Kelvin Stacey was one of seven Queen's Lancashire Regiment soldiers on trial for allegedly ill-treating suspected insurgents in Iraq. Sergeant Kelvin Stacey was acquitted of assault, occasioning actual bodily harm (ABH), due to lack of evidence, at a court martial in Bulford, Wiltshire.
The 30-year-old was found not guilty by a seven-member judging panel at a court martial in Bulford, Wiltshire. But he remains on trial facing a lesser charge of common assault, drafted as an alternative to the ABH charge.
He was acquitted of assault, occasioning actual bodily harm, due to a lack of evidence as the four-month prosecution case closed on Monday. Sgt Stacey, 30, is among seven Queen's Lancashire Regiment soldiers on trial for allegedly ill-treating suspected insurgents in Iraq.
The four-month prosecution case came to an end on Monday and Sgt Stacey was found not guilty of the ABH charge by a seven-member judging panel at the court martial.
Under military law, a court martial board can clear a defendant of a charge if it believes the prosecution has presented insufficient evidence to convict or warrant a defendant's defence team mounting a formal case in response.
CHARGES IN FULL Cpl Donald Payne - manslaughter, inhumane treatment of persons, perverting the course of justiceL/Cpl Wayne Crowcroft - inhumane treatment of personsPte Darren Fallon - inhumane treatment of personsSgt Kelvin Stacey - common assault Warrant Officer Mark Davies - negligently performing a dutyMaj Michael Peebles - negligently performing a dutyCol Jorge Mendonca - negligently performing a duty
Stacey's six co-defendants Cpl Donald Payne, L/Cpl Wayne Crowcroft, Pte Darren Fallon, Warrant Officer Mark Davies, Maj Michael Peebles and Colonel Jorge Mendonca, 43, the Queen's Lancashire Regiment's former commander remain on trial.
One of the seven accused, Cpl Donald Payne, has admitted the war crime of inhumanely treating civilian detainees in southern Iraq. But he denies other charges relating to the alleged abuse.