UK Soldiers Accused of Killing Iraqi Man Face Trial Inquiry Over Blair Involvement

UK Government Files Reveal Pressure on Officials to Prevent Soldiers’ Civil Trials

The UK government has released over 600 documents to the National Archives, shedding new light on the country’s involvement in the Iraq war. The files, which were made available on December 30, reveal that former Prime Minister Tony Blair pressured officials to prevent British soldiers accused of mistreating Iraqi civilians from being tried in civil courts.

According to the documents, Blair stated in a written memo that it was “essential” for international courts like the International Criminal Court (ICC) not to investigate UK actions in Iraq. The memo, dated July 2005, was sent by Blair’s private secretary for foreign affairs, Antony Phillipson, who had discussed the case of British soldiers accused of beating an Iraqi hotel receptionist, Baha Mousa, to death.

The documents also show that Phillipson told Blair that if the Attorney General felt that the case should be tried in a civil court, he could direct accordingly. However, Blair stressed that this should not happen, and instead wanted military justice to be applied.

The UK’s involvement in the Iraq war has been widely investigated and criticized, with over 200,000 Iraqi civilians, 179 British soldiers, and more than 4,000 US soldiers killed during the conflict. In 2020, the ICC ended its own inquiries into British war crimes in Iraq.

The released documents provide further insight into Blair’s role in shaping UK foreign policy decisions, including those related to the Iraq war. The files are now available for public viewing at the National Archives in Kew, west London.

Source: Al Jazeera