Archive for 'Human Rights' Category
Iraq Body Count slams Chilcot
by Chris Ames
NGO Iraq Body Count (IBC) has slammed the Inquiry for paying insufficient attention to Iraqi casualties and focusing on the British side of the story:
“Earlier official Inquiries into the war have been criticised for having too narrow a remit. In contrast, the Chilcot Inquiry has evidently been given one so broad and [...]
Wilful Ignorance about Civilian Deaths
by Brian Rappert
Today, the former Minister of State for the Armed Forces, Adam Ingram, will be giving testimony to the Iraq Inquiry. One of the topics he should be speaking about is the number of Iraqi civilians that died from the invasion.
Yesterday a report titled “A State of Ignorance” was released on this topic. [...]
Demands for inquiry into Iraq torture claims
by Chris Ames
The Independent reports that:
“Claims that more than one hundred Iraqi civilians were tortured and abused by British soldiers must be fully investigated at an independent public inquiry, the High Court was told yesterday.”
This is an issue that the Iraq Inquiry appears to be avoiding. The point that the claimants are making in [...]
“Court battles over Iraqi deaths in British Custody”
by Chris Ames
The Guardian reports that:
“The Ministry of Defence is facing a further series of court battles that may shed more damaging light on the conduct of British troops in Iraq, after it emerged that many more civilians died in army custody than previously thought.”
The Price of Justice
by Chris Ames
The day after the Saville Inquiry reported, the Independent has a story about the price of justice in Iraq, reporting that:
“The Government has paid off more than 1,000 innocent Iraqis hit by botched British military operations that resulted in deaths, injuries and major damage to property.
“An investigation by The Independent shows that the [...]
Minister misled MPs, lied to all of us
by Chris Ames
At the Baha Mousa Inquiry former armed forces minister Adam Ingram has admitted misleading MPs, or “misinforming them”, as the Guardian puts it, about the hooding of detainees in Iraq.
According to the BBC:
Ex-Labour minister Adam Ingram has admitted misleading MPs over British troops’ hooding of Iraqi prisoners.
In a Parliamentary answer he denied [...]
Ex ministers to face Baha Mousa inquiry
the BBC reports that:
“Two former Labour defence ministers are to be questioned at a public inquiry about the alleged abuse of Iraqi prisoners by British troops.
“Ex-ministers Geoff Hoon and Adam Ingram will appear before the Baha Mousa Inquiry in June.
“They are expected to be asked if they knew UK forces used banned prisoner-handling techniques in [...]
Another Inquiry touches on Iraq
by Chris Ames
The Guardian reports that:
“A judge will investigate claims that British intelligence agencies were complicit in the torture of terror suspects, William Hague, the foreign secretary, said [last night]”
The paper’s Iain Cobain lists the issues for the inquiry, including:
“Finally, the British army has been forced to admit that at least eight people died in [...]
I knew nothing, at all
by Chris Ames
With the Iraq Inquiry still keeping its head down, the BBC reports from the Baha Mousa Inquiry:
“The army general who ran UK military operations during the Iraq war has said he did not know about a 1972 ruling banning the hooding of detainees.
Gen Sir John Reith said he had been unaware prisoners were [...]
Human rights in post-invasion Iraq
by Chris Ames
The Inquiry hasn’t so far spent much time looking at the issue of human rights in Iraq, although it did take evidence from Ann Clwyd, the Prime Minister’s (ie Blair and Brown) Special Envoy. But new allegations have arisen of abuses by British and Iraqi forces since the invasion.
The Baha Mousa Inquiry is [...]