Iraqis to challenge UK govt.’s inquiry block

Hundreds of Iraqi civilians jailed by British military after the 2003 Iraq invasion have won the right to challenge the UK government's refusal to hold a public inquiry into torture accusations.

Jul 21, 2012 - Hundreds of Iraqi civilians jailed by British military after the 2003 Iraq invasion have won the right to challenge the UK government's refusal to hold a public inquiry into torture accusations.

The judge Justice Silber granted permission for 169 Iraqi civilians, who suffered torture and degrading treatment between March 2003 and December 2008 in UK-controlled prisons, to seek a second judicial review of the decision of the British Secretary of State for Defence Philip Hammond to investigate their allegations through the Iraq Historic Allegations Team (IHAT).

While the British government argued that the IHAT rules out the need for any other inquiry, critics maintain that the establishment lacks “the requisite independence.”

Earlier on November 2011, the claimants' representative Public Interest Lawyers won a Court of Appeal battle for a fresh inquiry into the case, arguing that the IHAT comprises of a number of Royal Military Police (RMP) officers, who involved in detention operations in Iraq.

Later on March 2012, the UK Secretary of State announced that the RMP element in IHAT was to be replaced with the Royal Navy Police (RNP). read more>>>