Iraq Prisoner Deaths Investigation to Reopen

British army's investigations into Iraq deaths to be reopened

MoD resists call for public inquiry into hundreds of other cases, but admits initial investigations were not 'sufficiently thorough'

30 January 2013 - Fresh investigations have been ordered into the deaths of several prisoners who died under suspicious circumstances in British military custody in Iraq, lawyers from the Ministry of Defence told the high court.

The disclosure comes as the MoD faces a legal challenge to its refusal to hold a public inquiry into a series of alleged human rights violations following the 2003 invasion of Iraq, including hundreds of claims that include unlawful detention, torture, and murder.

An inquiry team established by the MoD is now reinvestigating the deaths of two men who had been detained by soldiers of the Black Watch in Basra May 2003, the department's lawyers said.

An initial review by the MoD's Iraq Historic Allegations Team (IHAT) had concluded that although inquiries had been made following the deaths of Radhi Nama and Jabbar Kareen Ali, "both investigations had not been sufficiently thorough and were thus incomplete" and would need to be reopened. read more>>>