The independent investigation into the 1,291 complaints against British soldiers accused of committing war crimes in Iraq between 2003 and 2009 has been closed without prosecution, said British Defense Minister Ben Wallace , Tuesday October 19. The service responsible for this independent investigation has now “Officially closed its doors”, the minister said in a written statement to Parliament.
One hundred and seventy-eight charges had been brought and examined in 55 separate investigations and five people had been referred to the prosecution service in 2019, but ultimately no soldiers were prosecuted, Wallace said. In some cases, investigations carried out by the military police “In difficult conditions, on the battlefield”, “Failed to obtain all the evidence required, so opportunities to hold those responsible to account may have been lost”, he added.
The British military participated in the 2003 invasion of Iraq by a US-led coalition and subsequently maintained troops in the country.
Four convictions
Over 400 Iraqi prisoners had contacted, in recent years, the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR), based in Berlin, and the law firm Public Interest Lawyers, based in Birmingham (England), to denounce “Serious mistreatment and humiliation by British soldiers”, ranging from rape and torture to mock executions and other atrocities.
“The vast majority of the more than 140,000 members of our armed forces who have served in Iraq have done so honorably”, said Wallace, but “It is unfortunately clear that shocking and shameful incidents have occurred”.
Evoking “Four convictions of British military personnel” that occurred before the work of the independent commission, the minister affirmed that the government “Deplored and condemned all these incidents”, presenting “A wholehearted apology to all those who suffered unacceptable treatment by the British forces”.
In 2012, the British Ministry of Defense said it had paid £ 15.1 million (nearly € 18 million at the current rate) to more than 200 Iraqis accusing British soldiers of unlawful detention and torture.