Troops bound by human rights law, say judges (Britain)

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Appeal court extends ban on degrading treatment
· Army inquiries into Iraqi civilian deaths criticised

British soldiers in Iraq are bound by the Human Rights Act which forbids torture and inhuman or degrading treatment of prisoners, the appeal court ruled yesterday in a judgment which also criticised the way the military has investigated allegations of criminal conduct by UK forces. The judgment dealt a fresh blow to the beleaguered Ministry of Defence by extending the principle that the act covers the behaviour of British troops when they were "in effective control" of Iraqis.

The high court said last year this only applied when Iraqis were in a British-controlled prison but the appeal court said it covered British soldiers from the moment they arrested an Iraqi. One of the judges, Lord Justice Sedley, said there were good legal grounds for saying that the duty to protect essential rights, notably the right to life, should even include "the streets patrolled by British troops". The case was bought by lawyers representing the family of Baha Mousa, a hotel receptionist who died last year in the custody of British soldiers, and five other Iraqis allegedly killed by them.

"In my judgment, Mr Mousa came within the control and authority of the UK from the time he was arrested at the hotel and thereby lost his freedom at the hands of British troops," said Lord Justice Brooke, the most senior of the three judges who heard the case. The court did not find the soldiers in breach of the Human Rights Act, referring to the forthcoming court martial of Colonel Jorge Mendonca, former commanding officer of The Queen's Lancashire Regiment, and six other soldiers. Col Mendonca has been charged with negligently performing a duty.

But the judges condemned the army's handling of investigations into the deaths of Iraqi civilians. "If international standards are to be observed, the task of investigating incidents in which a human life is taken by British forces must be completely taken away from the military chain of command and vested in the Royal Military police," said Lord Justice Brooke. In a stinging passage, he added: "It could be difficult for a European government to decide to pursue policies that treated human life as more readily expendable just because those whom their forces kill are not themselves European." Documents disclosed to the court revealed that Lord Goldsmith, the attorney general, told Geoff Hoon, the then defence secretary, last year: "I have concerns about the way in which a number of incidents arising out of Iraq have been handled, both by the chain of command and by investigators."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/military/story/0,11816,1672403,00.html