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British special forces soldier faces war crimes probe for allegedly threatening to kill Taliban prisoner
Rebecca Camber, Mail Online, 18 Oct 09
Article link
A British special forces soldier is facing war crimes charges over claims he threatened to shoot a Taliban prisoner during interrogation.
The 25-year-old lance corporal was serving with the special forces in Afghanistan when he is alleged to held a gun to a captive's head, saying, 'answer the questions or you're dead'.
Officers from the Royal Military Police's special investigation branch are now investigating whether the alleged incident was part of a wider covert policy of using mental torture techniques to extract information from Taliban detainees.
The soldier, who cannot be identified for security reasons, is a trained Pashto interpreter and has served in the Army for eight years. He was said to have been part of team questioning a 'high value target' when, infuriated by a lack of response from the prisoner, he drew his pistol and cocked it.
It is claimed the interpreter shoved the suspect's head down on to the table, pressing the gun into the back of his head as he threatened to kill him, speaking in Pashto.
The alleged offence took place in a forward operating base in the Helmand province of Afghanistan in August, after members of the special forces captured several suspected Taliban gunmen believed to have carrying out improvised explosive device attacks against British troops.
It followed a two-month period of high intensity combat which left 37 soldiers dead and more than 100 injured.
Afterwards, a interrogator with the special forces unit who was present complained about the incident, also witnessed by an Afghan interpreter.
The soldier was arrested and questioned under caution by members of the Royal Military Police at Catterick Garrison in Yorkshire. He was later released and is now on leave.
A file has been passed to the Army Prosecuting Authority, the military equivalent of the Crown Prosecution Service to consider whether to charge.
The soldier serving with the special forces support group could now face a court martial. If convicted of either war crimes or assault with a weapon, he could expect to receive a custodial sentence.
The case would be hugely damaging to both the Army and the Government, which is already facing an inquiry into the killing of Baha Mousa, an Iraqi civilian who was beaten to death while in British custody in September 2003.
Threatening detainees or prisoners of war with violence is both a breach of the Geneva Convention and is defined as a war crime under the International Criminal Court Act.
International war crime legislation became part of British law in 2001 but only one soldier has been convicted of breaching the act. Corporal Donald Payne was jailed for one year and dismissed from the army after pleading guilty in September 2006 to a charge of inhumane treatment of several Iraqi prisoners.
War crimes are defined as "violations of the laws of war" and these include the ill-treatment of prisoners of war, which includes death threats during interrogation and mental torture.
The SFSG is the Army's newest special operations unit and is formed around the 1st battalion The Parachute Regiment. The unit is composed of members of the Royal Marines and the RAF Regiment and is based at RAF St. Athan, in Glamorgan, Wales.
From its inception in 2006, the regiment has supported the special forces on operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Yesterday a spokesman for the Ministry of Defence confirmed an investigation was underway, but refused to comment further.
British special forces soldier faces war crimes probe for allegedly threatening to kill Taliban prisoner
Rebecca Camber, Mail Online, 18 Oct 09
Article link
A British special forces soldier is facing war crimes charges over claims he threatened to shoot a Taliban prisoner during interrogation.
The 25-year-old lance corporal was serving with the special forces in Afghanistan when he is alleged to held a gun to a captive's head, saying, 'answer the questions or you're dead'.
Officers from the Royal Military Police's special investigation branch are now investigating whether the alleged incident was part of a wider covert policy of using mental torture techniques to extract information from Taliban detainees.
The soldier, who cannot be identified for security reasons, is a trained Pashto interpreter and has served in the Army for eight years. He was said to have been part of team questioning a 'high value target' when, infuriated by a lack of response from the prisoner, he drew his pistol and cocked it.
It is claimed the interpreter shoved the suspect's head down on to the table, pressing the gun into the back of his head as he threatened to kill him, speaking in Pashto.
The alleged offence took place in a forward operating base in the Helmand province of Afghanistan in August, after members of the special forces captured several suspected Taliban gunmen believed to have carrying out improvised explosive device attacks against British troops.
It followed a two-month period of high intensity combat which left 37 soldiers dead and more than 100 injured.
Afterwards, a interrogator with the special forces unit who was present complained about the incident, also witnessed by an Afghan interpreter.
The soldier was arrested and questioned under caution by members of the Royal Military Police at Catterick Garrison in Yorkshire. He was later released and is now on leave.
A file has been passed to the Army Prosecuting Authority, the military equivalent of the Crown Prosecution Service to consider whether to charge.
The soldier serving with the special forces support group could now face a court martial. If convicted of either war crimes or assault with a weapon, he could expect to receive a custodial sentence.
The case would be hugely damaging to both the Army and the Government, which is already facing an inquiry into the killing of Baha Mousa, an Iraqi civilian who was beaten to death while in British custody in September 2003.
Threatening detainees or prisoners of war with violence is both a breach of the Geneva Convention and is defined as a war crime under the International Criminal Court Act.
International war crime legislation became part of British law in 2001 but only one soldier has been convicted of breaching the act. Corporal Donald Payne was jailed for one year and dismissed from the army after pleading guilty in September 2006 to a charge of inhumane treatment of several Iraqi prisoners.
War crimes are defined as "violations of the laws of war" and these include the ill-treatment of prisoners of war, which includes death threats during interrogation and mental torture.
The SFSG is the Army's newest special operations unit and is formed around the 1st battalion The Parachute Regiment. The unit is composed of members of the Royal Marines and the RAF Regiment and is based at RAF St. Athan, in Glamorgan, Wales.
From its inception in 2006, the regiment has supported the special forces on operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Yesterday a spokesman for the Ministry of Defence confirmed an investigation was underway, but refused to comment further.
