UK Acknowledges War Crimes in Iraq, Does Not Take Action
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British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace declares the end of an investigation into nearly 1300 complaints about British soldiers in Iraq without a single prosecution.
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British soldiers in Basra, Iraq, on November 7, 2007 (AP)
An independent investigation into nearly 1300 allegations that British soldiers have committed war crimes in Iraq between 2003 and 2009 was declared over by British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace, without a single prosecution.
1,291 allegations have been assessed since July 2017, and the Service Police Legacy Investigation, the body responsible for the investigation, had "officially closed its doors."
178 allegations had been formally pursued through 55 separate investigations, but no soldiers had been prosecuted, Ben Wallace said in a written statement to Parliament.
"The vast majority of the more than 140,000 members of our armed forces who served in Iraq did so honorably," he claimed.
The defense secretary revealed that five people were referred for prosecution in 2019; however, no charges were brought against them. He asserted that some allegations were credible, but others were not. "Investigating them all posed a significant challenge," including in collecting evidence.
"Not all allegations and claims were spurious. Otherwise, investigations would not have proceeded beyond initial examination and no claims for compensation would have been paid," secretary Wallace added.
The secretary acknowledged that "shameful" and "shocking" incidents did happen in Iraq, deploring "all such incidents."
In February 2005, a UK court jailed three soldiers between 20 weeks and two years by a court-martial for abusing Iraqi civilians at a camp near Basra, southern Iraq, in 2003.
In 2007, a UK court jailed another soldier for a year in connection with the death of an Iraqi hotel receptionist, who was beaten while in British custody in 2003.
The British army participated in the 2003 invasion of Iraq as part of the US-led coalition. The British forces remained in Iraq thenceforth.
The British Defense Ministry announced in 2012 that it has paid out a total of more than $27.5 million in compensation settlements for abuse claims made by Iraqi nationals. The Iraqi nationals accused the British soldiers of illegal detention and torture.
