General
Sir Peter Wall, the head of the British Army; former Defence secretary
Geoff Hoon; and former Defence minister Adam Ingram are among those
named in the report, entitled "The Responsibility of UK Officials for
War Crimes Involving Systematic Detainee Abuse in Iraq from 2003-2008".
[Where are the US investigations? Why is Rumsfeld laughing? ]
The
damning dossier draws on cases of more than 400 Iraqis, representing
"thousands of allegations of mistreatment amounting to war crimes of
torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment".
They
range from "hooding" prisoners to burning, electric shocks, threats to
kill and "cultural and religious humiliation". Other forms of alleged
abuse include sexual assault, mock executions, threats of rape, death,
and torture.
The
formal complaint to the ICC, lodged yesterday, is the cumulation of
several years' work by Public Interest Lawyers (PIL) and the European
Centre for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR). It calls for an
investigation into the alleged war crimes, under Article 15 of the Rome
Statute.
The dossier, seen by The Independent on Sunday [UK],
is the most detailed ever submitted to the ICC's Office of the
Prosecutor on war crimes allegedly committed by British forces in Iraq.
The court has already acknowledged that there was little doubt that war
crimes were committed.
In
2006, it concluded: "There was a reasonable basis to believe that
crimes within the jurisdiction of the court had been committed, namely
wilful killing and inhuman treatment." At that time, prosecutors cited
the low number of cases – fewer than 20 – as a reason for not mounting
an investigation. But, since then, hundreds of other claims have come to
light – prompting consideration of the complaint now. It is the start
of a process which could result in British politicians and generals
being put in the dock on war-crimes charges.
Tony
Blair meets troops in Iraq in 2003. A dossier alleging "systematic" war
crimes by British forces - sent to Iraq by the former Prime Minister -
has been presented to the International Criminal Court (PA)
The
sheer scale and seriousness of the allegations passes the "gravity"
threshold to justify an investigation, according to the complaint. It
continues "those who bear the greatest responsibility" for alleged war
crimes "include individuals at the highest levels" of the British Army
and political system.
It concludes the evidence "justifies further
investigation" into the criminal responsibility "of senior individuals
within the UK military and government". It adds British military
commanders "knew or should have known" that forces under their control
"were committing or about to commit war crimes". And "civilian superiors
knew or consciously disregarded information at their disposal, which
clearly indicated that UK services personnel were committing war crimes
in Iraq".
