MOD confirms RMP investigation into allegations of abuse by British Soldiers

[big bad john]

http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/DefenceNews/MilitaryOperations/ModConfirmsRmpInvestigationIntoAllegationsOfAbuseByBritishSoldiers.htm

MOD confirms RMP investigation into allegations of abuse by British Soldiers
12 Feb 06
The Ministry of Defence has confirmed that recent and very serious allegations of abuse by British Soldiers in Iraq are now the subject of an urgent Royal Military Police investigation.


Ministry of Defence
The allegations arose from video footage obtained by a sunday newspaper.

British troops are not above the law, and it has always been MOD policy to initiate a Service police investigation where there are any grounds to suspect that a criminal act has, or might have been, committed. This case is no different.

In a statement, the Adjutant General's Chief of Staff, Brigadier Martin Routledge, said:

"The images in this video amount to very serious allegations. We can confirm they are now the subject of an urgent Royal Military Police investigation. They are disturbing images.

"We condemn all acts of abuse and brutality and always treat any allegations of wrongdoing by our personnel extremely seriously.

"The Army always initiates a Royal Military Police investigation whenever serious allegations of wrongdoing are made. This fulfils the Army’s obligation always to uphold the rule of law.



"We condemn all acts of abuse and brutality and always treat any allegations of wrongdoing by our personnel extremely seriously."

Brigadier Martin Routledge
"By way of background, whilst acknowledging that these are serious allegations, I would remind you that over 80,000 Servicemen and women have served in Iraq since military operations began. Only a tiny number are alleged to have been involved in incidents of deliberate abuse.

"The Army has a continuous and rigorous process of learning lessons from operations. We do that on the basis of knowing the facts. This emphasises the importance of the Royal Military Police conducting their investigations to establish those facts.

"The Royal Military Police are the people best qualified to conduct this investigation; their professional skills are benchmarked against Home Office standards, and they are soldiers too, who understand the operational environment.

"The most important thing is that we now establish the facts. No-one can or should say anything that prejudices the due process of law and you will appreciate that it is therefore not appropriate to comment any further while this investigation is ongoing."

 

[HDE]

Apparently the video was shot 2 years ago, during a riot, and the kids had, alledgedly, been stoning the Brits.  While I don't condone the beatings the issue appears more complex than  what is shown in the video.  What is the standard response to being stoned, er,  having stones thrown at CF troops? 

 

[big bad john]

http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/DefenceNews/MilitaryOperations/InvestigationIntoVideoAbuseAllegationsNowRmpsTopPriority.htm

Investigation into video abuse allegations now RMP's top priority
12 Feb 06
The Ministry of Defence can confirm that a serving soldier has been arrested in connection with very serious allegations of abuse arising from video footage obtained by a sunday newspaper.


Ministry of Defence
As at Monday 13 February 2006, investigations were ongoing to identify all personnel in the video.

A serving soldier has been arrested in connection with the allegations and items of evidential value have been seized.  The arrest took place at 2018hrs on Sunday 12 February 2006.

The MOD can also confirm that the 1st Battalion The Light Infantry are assisting the Royal Military Police with their enquiries.

The investigation into these extremely serious allegations is still at a very early stage, and is the Royal Military Police's top priority.

In an earlier statement, on Saturday 11 February 2006, the Adjutant General's Chief of Staff, Brigadier Martin Rutledge, said:

"The images in this video amount to very serious allegations. We can confirm they are now the subject of an urgent Royal Military Police investigation. They are disturbing images.

"We condemn all acts of abuse and brutality and always treat any allegations of wrongdoing by our personnel extremely seriously.

"The Army always initiates a Royal Military Police investigation whenever serious allegations of wrongdoing are made. This fulfils the Army’s obligation always to uphold the rule of law.

"We condemn all acts of abuse and brutality and always treat any allegations of wrongdoing by our personnel extremely seriously."

Brigadier Martin Rutledge
"By way of background, whilst acknowledging that these are serious allegations, I would remind you that over 80,000 Servicemen and women have served in Iraq since military operations began. Only a tiny number are alleged to have been involved in incidents of deliberate abuse.

"The Army has a continuous and rigorous process of learning lessons from operations. We do that on the basis of knowing the facts. This emphasises the importance of the Royal Military Police conducting their investigations to establish those facts.

"The Royal Military Police are the people best qualified to conduct this investigation; their professional skills are benchmarked against Home Office standards, and they are soldiers too, who understand the operational environment.

"The most important thing is that we now establish the facts. No-one can or should say anything that prejudices the due process of law and you will appreciate that it is therefore not appropriate to comment any further while this investigation is ongoing."

 

[big bad john]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,,1709962,00.html

Three soldiers held over video showing troops beating Iraqis

· Alleged victims say they will sue for compensation
· Bring troops home says father of arrested corporal

Steven Morris and Audrey Gillan
Wednesday February 15, 2006
The Guardian


Three soldiers were arrested yesterday in connection with the video of British troops allegedly abusing Iraqis in the northern town of Amara in 2004. The Ministry of Defence said three individuals who "might be implicated in the allegations had been detained".
The arrests came as Basra provincial council severed all relations with Britain and two of the alleged victims of abuse came forward to identify themselves and demand compensation. Protesters marched on the British consulate in Basra and burned the union flag. They carried flags and banners reading "No, no to Tony Blair" and "Try the British soldiers involved in this aggression". The council said in a statement: "All governmental offices will cut all kinds of relations with the British forces and they will not cooperate with them until further notice."

Last night the MoD said: "The Royal Military Police have identified several people in the video and investigations are ongoing to identify all those involved in the alleged incident."

The father of the soldier believed to have recorded the video defended his son and called for troops to be brought out of Iraq. Corporal Martin Webster of the 1st Battalion the Light Infantry was arrested on Sunday by RMP officers after the exposure of the video by the News of the World. Jim Webster said he did not know why his son took the footage or indeed if it was his voice talking over the events.

"People don't understand what's going on out there in Basra. Martin is in the firing line - it's easy for the politicians to throw mud but my son's out there on the ground.

"The politicians don't have a clue what is going on. I don't think the troops should be out there.

"The politicians don't understand the pressure they are under and they don't understand the situation. I don't think the troops should be out there. And of course I'd like to see my son come home." He added: "My son is not a bad boy. He's dug himself into a pit and he's got to find his way back out again - but we will support him."

In Basra, council official Nadhim al-Jabiri said cooperation with the British consulate there would end. Major General Hassan Suwadi, the city's police chief, said all Iraqi security forces would stop conducting joint patrols with the British military in the province.

He said: "We condemn the abuse of the British forces and demand the British government adopt legal procedures as soon as possible to punish its soldiers who carried out the abuse."

At a press conference at the office of the radical Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, the two Iraqis who claim to have been among those beaten said they would take legal action. Bassem Shaker, 27, told Associated Press: "I was one of 250 unemployed people demonstrating in the street in 2004, but when we reached the governor's office we were surprised by the presence of the British forces. We started throwing stones at them because we believed that they were behind all our misery."

Riyadh Mahoud, the governor of Amara, said local authorities were helping the purported victims sue.

"Even if the British apologise to the victims and their families it is not enough. I don't think the investigation will end the violence."

At his home in Falmouth Mr Webster said his son had been released from custody. He accused the News of the World of irresponsibility for publishing the video: "Of course the behaviour was unacceptable, but you have to understand what led to it. Now the troops are at even greater risk."

 

[enfield]

As much as this needs to investigated, the British Government really needs to stand up for its troops more. Having sent them to war, Blair & Co. seem to have no problem with hanging them out to dry.