AP: No courts-martial for British soldiers (Amarah video)

Posted on Thu, Jan. 04, 2007

No courts-martial for British soldiers

Associated Press

LONDON - British soldiers who were videotaped beating Iraqi civilians
in 2004 will not face courts-martial, although two soldiers may be
subject to other disciplinary proceedings, the Ministry of Defense
said Thursday.

The video, made in 2004, came to light last year and was widely broadcast.
It showed British soldiers beating several Iraqi youths in the city of
Amarah, about 180 miles southeast of Baghdad, on a day when British
forces clashed with protesters.

Following an inquiry by the army's Special Investigation Branch, nine men
from the 1st Battalion, Light Infantry were referred to the Army Prosecuting
Authority.

The authority said there was enough evidence to charge two of the soldiers
with assault, but the six-month deadline for bringing a charge had passed.

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Last Updated: Thursday, 4 January 2007, 13:29 GMT

No charges over Iraq video riots

Nine British soldiers who were accused of beating Iraqi youths
in disturbances caught on video will not face charges, Army
lawyers have announced.

The Army Prosecution Service (APA) said there was not enough
evidence on most of the allegations, and prosecution was "not in
the public interest" on others.

Video footage emerged in February 2006 of riots in the southern
Iraqi town of al-Amarah during April 2004.

-snip-