Civilians fighting for a public inquiry into claims of abuse by British troops in Iraq scored a landmark victory today when the Court of Appeal ordered that Defence Secretary Philip Hammond reconsider how they will be investigated.
Over 100 Iraqis are pressing for an independent probe into allegations of torture and degrading treatment at British-run detention facilities between March 2003 and December 2008.
And judges ruled today that ongoing MoD inquiries were at best inadequate and at worst "substantially compromised."They stopped short of ordering a fresh investigation but asked Mr Hammond to look again at how hundreds of allegations of torture and unlawful killing are investigated.
The 128 civilians involved in the case had their call for a wide-ranging public inquiry to look at potential systemic abuse rejected last December by the High Court.Judges ruled then that the government's Iraq Historic Allegations Team (IHAT), aimed at identifying and punishing "bad apples" in the army, was sufficient.
But today appeal judges overturned the High Court ruling.
They said that the IHAT "lacked independence" because its investigators included the Royal Military Police, which was also involved in the detention of Iraqi civilians.They also found that other inquiries failed to comply fully with the European Convention on Human Rights.
Their ruling marked a dramatic victory for lead claimant Ali Zaki Mousa, a former taxi driver from Basra, who alleges that he endured months of beatings and other abuse while in British custody between 2006-7.
Following the ruling Mr Mousa said that it had restored Iraqi confidence in the British people."I am delighted with the victory because I always believed that the Royal Military Police would be biased in its investigations of the soldiers," he said.
"It is part of the army."
His lawyer Phil Shiner of Public Interest Lawyers (PIL) said that the judgement had paved the way for a judge-led public inquiry into Britain's detention policy in Iraq.
"It is something we have been calling for since 2004," he said.Mr Shiner accused the MoJ of using "every dirty trick in the book" to avoid accountability for the alleged atrocities committed against Iraqi civilians.
"Now it has nowhere to hide," he said.
PIL argues that "overwhelming evidence" put before the courts shows that the abuse suffered by Mr Mousa arose "out of widespread and systemic practices such as the use of sexual humiliation and physical and psychological torture during prolonged interrogations lasting over 30 days."
A Ministry of Defence spokesman said following today's ruling: "We will examine the judgement very carefully and consider next steps."The appeal judges gave Mr Hammond, whose sleaze-hit predecessor Liam Fox refused to order an inquiry, until November 30 to challenge the ruling in the Supreme Court.
by Louise Nousratpour
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