Brutal attack by soldiers left innocent Iraqi dead, court told
Seven paras accused of murder at court martial
Owen Bowcott
Tuesday September 6, 2005
The Guardian
An army court martial yesterday heard the first graphic account of how seven British soldiers allegedly carried out a "brutal" and "unprovoked" attack on a group of Iraqi civilians that led to the death of an unarmed teenager from severe head injuries.
The paratroopers, who appeared at the hearing in Colchester, Essex, and have been charged with murder, were alleged to have used rifle butts, helmets, fists and feet to batter the occupants of an intercepted Toyota pick-up truck.
Two women who tried to intervene were "hit and hurt", the court martial was told. One of them was pregnant. A dog that barked at the patrol was shot dead.
The hearing was told that witnesses had heard the soldiers laughing and clapping.
On the opening day of the long-anticipated military case - which dates back to May 2003, three weeks after the formal end to hostilities - the chief prosecutor, Martin Heslop QC, gave a detailed narrative of the incident which allegedly led to the death of 18-year-old Nadhem Abdullah.
Corporal Scott Evans, 32, and Privates Billy Nerney, 24, Samuel May, 25, Morné Vosloo, 26, Daniel Harding, 25, Roberto Di-Gregorio, 24 and Scott Jackson, 26, all deny murder and violent disorder.
Before describing the event Mr Heslop asked each of them whether they pleaded guilty to murder and violent disorder.
Each of the men, who were all members of the 3rd Battalion the Parachute Regiment, in turn answered: "No, sir."
"The Crown case is that [these men] entered a small Iraqi village in two vehicles," Mr Heslop said. Once in the village they brutally assaulted a number of unarmed Iraqis, causing fatal injuries.
"In the course of the assault they used helmets, rifle butts, fists and feet. Two women who tried to intervene were hit and hurt. One was pregnant. A dog that was barking was shot dead.
"This is not a case of soldiers responding to an attack nor being required to defend themselves in an operational engagement. This was nothing more than gratuitous violence meted out to unarmed civilians."
The assaults, Mr Heslop added, were "unjustified and wholly unprovoked".
Evidence against the men, he said, came from a number of sources. Iraqi witnesses could not individually identify them, but they saw British soldiers and vehicles. No other units were in the area at the time, Mr Heslop explained.
Boot marks on the clothes of the injured Toyota driver, Athar Saddam, matched those worn by several patrol members, the court heard.
Blood recovered from the screw recess of Private May's rifle butt matched the DNA profile of Mr Abdullah's family. Private May was second-in-command of the patrol, which was led by Corporal Evans.
Radio messages sent from the patrol that day confirmed they had followed a car from a checkpoint, Mr Heslop said.
Later two of the accused - Privates Di-Gregorio and Vosloo - acknowledged there had been an incident that day.
Mr Heslop said the men were all charged with murder on the basis of "joint enterprise" in that they had either "inflicted blows" or had later protected those who carried out the assaults.
The patrol, the court heard, had been out that day to stop so-called "Ali Ba Bas" trying to smuggle money through Iran. The soldiers, it was suggested, may have mistaken the Toyota pick-up for a similar vehicle.
The patrol followed the truck into Al-Ferkah in southern Iraq where it was dropping off locals who had been to market. The two army vehicles boxed in the Toyota.
"The deceased [Mr Abdullah] and the driver were dragged out and made to lie down," Mr Heslop said. "The men were assaulted. During the assault the driver's sister, Dalal, tried to stop it. She was struck by one of the soldiers on the mouth.
"Nadhem Abdullah was struck about the head and body. He and the driver were rendered unconscious."
Leaving them behind, the soldiers went on to assault two brothers who had earlier left the vehicle, Kazem and Zugraher Al-Mohamadawi, Mr Heslop told the court.
"Witnesses described the soldiers laughing and clapping their hands."
After the patrol left, Mr Abdullah and Mr Saddam were taken to a hospital in nearby Amara. Mr Saddam was suffering internal bleeding to the back of his head, thought to have been caused by a rifle butt.
No neurosurgeon was on duty so he was driven to Basra but he died on the way. His body could not be exhumed for a postmortem examination.
"However, the Crown has no doubts that Mr Abdullah died as a result of the battering he received from the soldiers," Mr Heslop added.
The men's commanding officer, Captain Andrew Blackmore, the court heard, interviewed the soldiers on their return to base that night.
He reported finding them excited and hyped up but they denied that anything had happened.
The court martial is being held in a converted military warehouse in the flagstaff compound in Colchester. The building was previously used for testing uniforms and equipment.
A visit by lawyers to Al-Ferkah was yesterday postponed because of deteriorating security. A video of the scene will instead be shown to the court martial next week.
The proceedings of a general court martial are similar to a civilian crown court. The judge advocate, Judge Jeff Blackett, is a civilian.
Instead of a jury there is a seven-member panel which delivers the verdict.
It comprises six men and one woman of varying ranks between brigadier and warrant officer.
If any of the accused are found guilty the panel, working with the judge, will also decide upon the sentence.
The seven former and serving soldiers accused are represented by civilian barristers and solicitors. The judge ordered that their home addresses should not be revealed.
Three of the soldiers who have since left the army are deemed to have been re-enlisted for the duration of the trial. If convicted, they will serve their time in a military prison.
The hearing was adjourned until next Monday.
· The seven men are charged with two offences each, murder and violent disorder. The accused, who appeared in court, were Corporal Scott Evans, Private Billy Nerney, Private Samuel May and Private Morné Vosloo. All four are still serving members of the 3rd battalion, the Parachute regiment.
The other three accused - Private Scott Jackson, Private Daniel Harding and Private Roberto Di-Gregorio - are all former members of the 3rd battalion, the Parachute regiment.
All seven men deny the charges.
The other cases
Ahmed Jabber Kareem, a 16-year-old, died after being arrested by three Irish Guards on May 8, 2003. It is alleged he and three other Iraqis were marched at gunpoint to a dock near the Shatt al-Arab waterway in Basra and forced to jump in. The Army Prosec-uting Authority (APA) is considering charges.
· Said Shabram was herding sheep with another man in the former marine base in Basra on May 24, 2003. A British soldier is is said to have told them to follow him to the dockside and, after they did so, they were ordered to stand at the water's edge before being pushed in. Said Shabram drowned despite a rescue attempt by another soldier. The APA is deliberating whether to charge an officer and two soldiers from 32 Engineer regiment. They could face joint murder charges over his death.
· Baha Mousa, 28 , a hotel receptionist, died in Basra in September 2003 after alleged abuse by British soldiers from the Queen's Lancashire regiment who had arrested him on suspicion of having links with insurgents.Mousa's father is a lieutenant-colonel in the Iraqi police. His body had more than 50 bruises and a post mortem revealed strangulation marks. A soldier has been charged with manslaughter, attempting to pervert the course of justice and assault; another soldier has been charged with assault.
· Ghanin Gatteh al- Roomi was shot by coalition forces on January 1 2004 in Basra. An SAS soldier has been charged with his murder despite resistance from his commanding officer and the director of special forces who were reported to have argued it would damage morale.
Isabelle Chevallot
Special report
The military
Link Here
Owen Bowcott
Tuesday September 6, 2005
The Guardian
An army court martial yesterday heard the first graphic account of how seven British soldiers allegedly carried out a "brutal" and "unprovoked" attack on a group of Iraqi civilians that led to the death of an unarmed teenager from severe head injuries.
The paratroopers, who appeared at the hearing in Colchester, Essex, and have been charged with murder, were alleged to have used rifle butts, helmets, fists and feet to batter the occupants of an intercepted Toyota pick-up truck.
Two women who tried to intervene were "hit and hurt", the court martial was told. One of them was pregnant. A dog that barked at the patrol was shot dead.
The hearing was told that witnesses had heard the soldiers laughing and clapping.
On the opening day of the long-anticipated military case - which dates back to May 2003, three weeks after the formal end to hostilities - the chief prosecutor, Martin Heslop QC, gave a detailed narrative of the incident which allegedly led to the death of 18-year-old Nadhem Abdullah.
Corporal Scott Evans, 32, and Privates Billy Nerney, 24, Samuel May, 25, Morné Vosloo, 26, Daniel Harding, 25, Roberto Di-Gregorio, 24 and Scott Jackson, 26, all deny murder and violent disorder.
Before describing the event Mr Heslop asked each of them whether they pleaded guilty to murder and violent disorder.
Each of the men, who were all members of the 3rd Battalion the Parachute Regiment, in turn answered: "No, sir."
"The Crown case is that [these men] entered a small Iraqi village in two vehicles," Mr Heslop said. Once in the village they brutally assaulted a number of unarmed Iraqis, causing fatal injuries.
"In the course of the assault they used helmets, rifle butts, fists and feet. Two women who tried to intervene were hit and hurt. One was pregnant. A dog that was barking was shot dead.
"This is not a case of soldiers responding to an attack nor being required to defend themselves in an operational engagement. This was nothing more than gratuitous violence meted out to unarmed civilians."
The assaults, Mr Heslop added, were "unjustified and wholly unprovoked".
Evidence against the men, he said, came from a number of sources. Iraqi witnesses could not individually identify them, but they saw British soldiers and vehicles. No other units were in the area at the time, Mr Heslop explained.
Boot marks on the clothes of the injured Toyota driver, Athar Saddam, matched those worn by several patrol members, the court heard.
Blood recovered from the screw recess of Private May's rifle butt matched the DNA profile of Mr Abdullah's family. Private May was second-in-command of the patrol, which was led by Corporal Evans.
Radio messages sent from the patrol that day confirmed they had followed a car from a checkpoint, Mr Heslop said.
Later two of the accused - Privates Di-Gregorio and Vosloo - acknowledged there had been an incident that day.
Mr Heslop said the men were all charged with murder on the basis of "joint enterprise" in that they had either "inflicted blows" or had later protected those who carried out the assaults.
The patrol, the court heard, had been out that day to stop so-called "Ali Ba Bas" trying to smuggle money through Iran. The soldiers, it was suggested, may have mistaken the Toyota pick-up for a similar vehicle.
The patrol followed the truck into Al-Ferkah in southern Iraq where it was dropping off locals who had been to market. The two army vehicles boxed in the Toyota.
"The deceased [Mr Abdullah] and the driver were dragged out and made to lie down," Mr Heslop said. "The men were assaulted. During the assault the driver's sister, Dalal, tried to stop it. She was struck by one of the soldiers on the mouth.
"Nadhem Abdullah was struck about the head and body. He and the driver were rendered unconscious."
Leaving them behind, the soldiers went on to assault two brothers who had earlier left the vehicle, Kazem and Zugraher Al-Mohamadawi, Mr Heslop told the court.
"Witnesses described the soldiers laughing and clapping their hands."
After the patrol left, Mr Abdullah and Mr Saddam were taken to a hospital in nearby Amara. Mr Saddam was suffering internal bleeding to the back of his head, thought to have been caused by a rifle butt.
No neurosurgeon was on duty so he was driven to Basra but he died on the way. His body could not be exhumed for a postmortem examination.
"However, the Crown has no doubts that Mr Abdullah died as a result of the battering he received from the soldiers," Mr Heslop added.
The men's commanding officer, Captain Andrew Blackmore, the court heard, interviewed the soldiers on their return to base that night.
He reported finding them excited and hyped up but they denied that anything had happened.
The court martial is being held in a converted military warehouse in the flagstaff compound in Colchester. The building was previously used for testing uniforms and equipment.
A visit by lawyers to Al-Ferkah was yesterday postponed because of deteriorating security. A video of the scene will instead be shown to the court martial next week.
The proceedings of a general court martial are similar to a civilian crown court. The judge advocate, Judge Jeff Blackett, is a civilian.
Instead of a jury there is a seven-member panel which delivers the verdict.
It comprises six men and one woman of varying ranks between brigadier and warrant officer.
If any of the accused are found guilty the panel, working with the judge, will also decide upon the sentence.
The seven former and serving soldiers accused are represented by civilian barristers and solicitors. The judge ordered that their home addresses should not be revealed.
Three of the soldiers who have since left the army are deemed to have been re-enlisted for the duration of the trial. If convicted, they will serve their time in a military prison.
The hearing was adjourned until next Monday.
· The seven men are charged with two offences each, murder and violent disorder. The accused, who appeared in court, were Corporal Scott Evans, Private Billy Nerney, Private Samuel May and Private Morné Vosloo. All four are still serving members of the 3rd battalion, the Parachute regiment.
The other three accused - Private Scott Jackson, Private Daniel Harding and Private Roberto Di-Gregorio - are all former members of the 3rd battalion, the Parachute regiment.
All seven men deny the charges.
The other cases
Ahmed Jabber Kareem, a 16-year-old, died after being arrested by three Irish Guards on May 8, 2003. It is alleged he and three other Iraqis were marched at gunpoint to a dock near the Shatt al-Arab waterway in Basra and forced to jump in. The Army Prosec-uting Authority (APA) is considering charges.
· Said Shabram was herding sheep with another man in the former marine base in Basra on May 24, 2003. A British soldier is is said to have told them to follow him to the dockside and, after they did so, they were ordered to stand at the water's edge before being pushed in. Said Shabram drowned despite a rescue attempt by another soldier. The APA is deliberating whether to charge an officer and two soldiers from 32 Engineer regiment. They could face joint murder charges over his death.
· Baha Mousa, 28 , a hotel receptionist, died in Basra in September 2003 after alleged abuse by British soldiers from the Queen's Lancashire regiment who had arrested him on suspicion of having links with insurgents.Mousa's father is a lieutenant-colonel in the Iraqi police. His body had more than 50 bruises and a post mortem revealed strangulation marks. A soldier has been charged with manslaughter, attempting to pervert the course of justice and assault; another soldier has been charged with assault.
· Ghanin Gatteh al- Roomi was shot by coalition forces on January 1 2004 in Basra. An SAS soldier has been charged with his murder despite resistance from his commanding officer and the director of special forces who were reported to have argued it would damage morale.
Isabelle Chevallot
Special report
The military
Link Here
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