IRAQ:The highest-ranking British army officer to face a court martial in modern times and three of his men were cleared yesterday of involvement in the systematic abuse of Iraqi civilian prisoners.
Col Jorge Mendonca was acquitted of failing to ensure that his men did not mistreat prisoners who were being held at a British detention centre in Basra, southern Iraq. His three colleagues were found not guilty of taking part in beating the prisoners, violence which culminated in the death of hotel worker Baha Mousa (26), who was attacked over a 36-hour period while handcuffed and hooded. He suffered 93 separate injuries.
A fifth man, Cpl Donald Payne, was cleared of the manslaughter of Mr Mousa. However, Cpl Payne has admitted inhuman treatment of the detainees, a war crime, and will be sentenced at a later date. The verdicts in favour of the five men - on the 80th day of a case estimated to have already cost more than £20 million (€30 million) and which is still not over - provoked anger and dismay.
Some members of the military are angry that Col Mendonca and the others were court-marshalled in the first place. Brig Geoffrey Sheldon, who at the time of the abuse was the colonel-in-chief of the men's regiment, the Queen's Lancashire (QLR), said he was "absolutely thrilled" at the verdicts. He demanded that the way serving soldiers are prosecuted be re-examined.
Those who represent Mr Mousa's family and the Iraqi detainees, who were subjected to the abuses, are also understood to be angry at the verdicts - but will not comment until the case is completely over.
The court martial has heard how in September 2003, 10 civilians were arrested by members of the QLR during a raid at a hotel in Basra, southern Iraq. Handcuffed, hooded with hessian sacks and deprived of sleep, they were forced to maintain a "stress position" - backs to the wall, knees bent and arms outstretched parallel to the ground. If they dropped their arms, they were punished with beatings.
Cpl Payne, who was in charge of guarding the prisoners, was said to be at the centre of the ill treatment. At the start of the trial, he made history when he became the first British soldier to admit to a war crime. But he denied the manslaughter of Mr Mousa.
Two other soldiers, Kingsman Darren Fallon and Lance Cpl Wayne Crowcroft, were also accused of inhumanly treating prisoners - a war crime. A third, Sgt Kelvin Stacey, was said to have kicked and punched an Iraqi prisoner. But the case against them centred on the claims of a colleague who was attacked as a "fantasist" in court.
The decision to clear the men is certain to lead to an inquest in the army prosecution authority, already damaged by a series of previous failures and resentment among senior army commanders.