IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency
London, Feb 5, IRNA -- Lawyers for 66 Iraqis, claiming torture and abuse at the hands of UK soldiers, started legal action Friday calling for a single inquiry into Britain’s detention policy during the Iraq war.
“There are now so many cases and claimants that the Ministry of Defence (MoD), Royal Military Police and the Court cannot hope to deal with them all individually within any sort of reasonable timescale,” said Public Interest Lawyers (PIL).
“Thus, it will be argued in this fresh judicial review that the only rational approach now is for a single and independent public inquiry into all the issues and cases,” PIL said in a statement obtained by IRNA.
The fresh cases of alleged abuse and torture carried out between May 2003 and December 2007 comes amid a public inquiry into the death of Basra hotel receptionist Abu Mousa while in British detention that started last year.
The British government also agreed last December to establish an inquiry to the deaths of 20 Iraq prisoners, who are alleged to have been murdered after being detained by British troops at Camp Abu Naji in 2004.
PIL said the judicial review will argue that there are common systemic issues, facilities and personnel and similar allegations of systematic abuse are being made in all cases.
Phil Shiner, solicitor for all of the Iraqis said that he believed the MoD seemed to be about to concede that a single inquiry is required to investigate all of the serious allegations of abuse.
“The MOD's suggestion, made in the Telegraph last week, that the Iraqis we act for are bringing fraudulent claims to earn a quick buck is potentially libellous, it has nasty racist undertones and echoes the ill treatment of our clients by British soldiers,” Shiner said.
He said his firm meets with those it represents and sees “firsthand the serious physical and psychological effects being suffered.”
A single inquiry was also called for by Iraqi human rights activist, Mazin Younis, saying it seems to be the “most reasonable and practical course of action that needs to be taken to resolve such large and growing number of allegations.”
“The flow of horrific cases of abuse from Iraq has never stopped, and new claimants who have approached me but not yet thoroughly investigated stands now at an alarming 90 Iraqis, some with very shocking stories,” Younis said.
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End News / IRNA / News Code 942722
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