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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Claim UK troops 'executed' Iraqis | Claim UK troops 'executed' Iraqis |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| Lawyers are claiming that up to 20 Iraqi prisoners were executed by British troops after a gun battle. | Lawyers are claiming that up to 20 Iraqi prisoners were executed by British troops after a gun battle. |
| Some alleged survivors of the gun battle near the southern Iraqi town of Majat-al-Kabir also claim that corpses were mutilated by UK military. | Some alleged survivors of the gun battle near the southern Iraqi town of Majat-al-Kabir also claim that corpses were mutilated by UK military. |
| Solicitor Phil Shiner said: "We would be very surprised if [the evidence] did not shock the nation." | Solicitor Phil Shiner said: "We would be very surprised if [the evidence] did not shock the nation." |
| All claims of any kind of abuse by British troops have been strongly denied by the Ministry of Defence. | All claims of any kind of abuse by British troops have been strongly denied by the Ministry of Defence. |
| The fighting - known as the Battle of Danny Boy after a checkpoint - took place in May 2004. | The fighting - known as the Battle of Danny Boy after a checkpoint - took place in May 2004. |
| Torture claims | Torture claims |
| The allegations were first reported a month after the fighting, but lawyers acting for the survivors said this was the first time full details had been published. | The allegations were first reported a month after the fighting, but lawyers acting for the survivors said this was the first time full details had been published. |
| Lawyers Mr Shiner and Martyn Day suggested that prisoners taken after the three-hour gun battle were moved to a British base at Abu Naji and killed. | Lawyers Mr Shiner and Martyn Day suggested that prisoners taken after the three-hour gun battle were moved to a British base at Abu Naji and killed. |
| There is the clearest evidence available of systematic abuse and systematic failings at the very highest levels of politicians, the civil service and the military Phil Shiner class="" href="/1/hi/programmes/panorama/7235426.stm">Panorama: On Whose Orders? | |
| The two lawyers also published written statements of five alleged survivors of the incident and other material at a London press conference. | The two lawyers also published written statements of five alleged survivors of the incident and other material at a London press conference. |
| The five men - Hussein Jabbari Ali, Hussain Fadhil Abass, Atiyah Sayid Abdelreza, Madhi Jassim Abdullah and Ahmad Jabber Ahmood - had described what they heard while in detention. | The five men - Hussein Jabbari Ali, Hussain Fadhil Abass, Atiyah Sayid Abdelreza, Madhi Jassim Abdullah and Ahmad Jabber Ahmood - had described what they heard while in detention. |
| The statements described how they heard other men screaming, moaning in pain and choking and also the sound of gunfire. | The statements described how they heard other men screaming, moaning in pain and choking and also the sound of gunfire. |
| They also allege that they were cuffed and forced to wear blacked-out goggles. | They also allege that they were cuffed and forced to wear blacked-out goggles. |
| The lawyers are now bringing a damages claim in the UK courts on behalf of the five men and the families of the deceased. | |
| 'Unusual injuries' | 'Unusual injuries' |
| Mr Abdelreza's statement said: "I believed people were being killed. I have never heard anything like that sound ever before in my life. | Mr Abdelreza's statement said: "I believed people were being killed. I have never heard anything like that sound ever before in my life. |
| "It shocked me and filled me with such terror." | "It shocked me and filled me with such terror." |
| The lawyers also say the five witnesses are labourers from Majar with "absolutely nothing" to do with the insurgent Mehdi army, who engaged British troops at the Battle of Danny Boy. | |
| Showing images of corpses from the battle, Mr Day said: "The nature of a number of the injuries of the Iraqis would seem to us to be highly unusual in a battlefield. | Showing images of corpses from the battle, Mr Day said: "The nature of a number of the injuries of the Iraqis would seem to us to be highly unusual in a battlefield. |
| "For example, quite how so many of the Iraqis sustained single gunshots to the head and from seemingly at close quarter, how did two of them end with their eyes gouged out, how did one have his penis cut off [and] some have torture wounds?" | "For example, quite how so many of the Iraqis sustained single gunshots to the head and from seemingly at close quarter, how did two of them end with their eyes gouged out, how did one have his penis cut off [and] some have torture wounds?" |
| Both lawyers are calling for the current investigation by the Royal Military Police (RMP) to be taken over by Scotland Yard. | Both lawyers are calling for the current investigation by the Royal Military Police (RMP) to be taken over by Scotland Yard. |
| "There is the clearest evidence available of systematic abuse and systematic failings at the very highest levels of politicians, the civil service and the military," said Mr Shiner. | "There is the clearest evidence available of systematic abuse and systematic failings at the very highest levels of politicians, the civil service and the military," said Mr Shiner. |
| Mr Day was previous involved in legal action launched against the MoD over allegations by more than 200 Masai women in Kenya that they were raped by British soldiers in the 1970s. | |
| Mr Shiner acted for the family of Baha Mousa, an Iraqi civilian who died while he was in British army custody in Basra in 2003. | |
| Mr Shiner did acknowledge that most of the five men's interpretation of what they heard while blindfolded, and that no post-mortem examinations had taken place on the bodies of the 20 dead. | |
| But he said that on the basis of current evidence he believed his clients were telling the truth. | |
| "It may be that none of this happened," he said. "We need a public inquiry to establish the facts." | |
| An application for a High Court judicial review of the Ministry of Defence decision not to stage an inquiry is underway, he added. | |
| Documentary investigation | Documentary investigation |
| The claims are being examined by the BBC's Panorama programme on Monday. | The claims are being examined by the BBC's Panorama programme on Monday. |
| A BBC spokesman said: "Panorama has spent over a year talking to battlefield survivors, medical staff and Iraqi former prisoners in Iraq, Turkey and Jordan. | A BBC spokesman said: "Panorama has spent over a year talking to battlefield survivors, medical staff and Iraqi former prisoners in Iraq, Turkey and Jordan. |
| "The programme critically examines claims made by lawyers who are representing the Iraqis in their action against the British government. | "The programme critically examines claims made by lawyers who are representing the Iraqis in their action against the British government. |
| "Of all the allegations they make, the programme concludes that the evidence is strongest that prisoners were mistreated. | "Of all the allegations they make, the programme concludes that the evidence is strongest that prisoners were mistreated. |
| "Panorama has seen no proof that prisoners died at the hands of their captors at or after the Battle of Danny Boy." | "Panorama has seen no proof that prisoners died at the hands of their captors at or after the Battle of Danny Boy." |
| A spokesman for the MoD said: "Allegations of mistreatment, unlawful killing and mutilation by British troops following an incident at Vehicle Checkpoint Danny Boy were thoroughly investigated by the RMP. | A spokesman for the MoD said: "Allegations of mistreatment, unlawful killing and mutilation by British troops following an incident at Vehicle Checkpoint Danny Boy were thoroughly investigated by the RMP. |
| "Their investigation lasted 10 months, involved the interviewing of over 150 British personnel and 50 Iraqi nationals, and found no evidence to support these allegations. | "Their investigation lasted 10 months, involved the interviewing of over 150 British personnel and 50 Iraqi nationals, and found no evidence to support these allegations. |
| "New allegations are part of an ongoing RMP (Special Investigation Branch) investigation and judicial review and it would be inappropriate to comment further." | "New allegations are part of an ongoing RMP (Special Investigation Branch) investigation and judicial review and it would be inappropriate to comment further." |
| Panorama: On Whose Orders? will be shown on BBC One at 20.30 GMT on Monday 25 February. |