Colonel and three of his men cleared over abuse of detained Iraqis

[IndianaGreen]

General MacArthur had the Japanese commander of the Philippine occupation, General Yamashita Tomoyuki, hung for crimes his troops had committed, even though he didn't know of the crimes and had issued orders against abusing the civilians. McArthur felt that command responsibility went all the way up the chain of command, and that even a supreme commander was responsible for acts committed by troops under his command.

Colonel and three of his men cleared over abuse of detained Iraqis

· Court martial followed death of hotel worker
· Case against two other soldiers continues

Steven Morris and Richard Norton-Taylor
Thursday February 15, 2007
The Guardian


Colonel Jorge Mendonca.
Photograph: Fiona
Hanson/PA

The highest-ranking British officer to face a court martial in modern times and three of his men were cleared yesterday of involvement in the systematic abuse of Iraqi civilian prisoners.

Colonel Jorge Mendonca was acquitted of failing to ensure that his men did not mistreat prisoners who were being held at a British detention centre in Basra, southern Iraq. His three colleagues were found not guilty of taking part in the beating of the prisoners, violence which culminated in the death of hotel worker Baha Mousa, who was attacked over a 36-hour period while handcuffed and hooded and suffered 93 separate injuries.

<snip>

The case against Col Mendonca was that he should have known what was going on and ought to have acted to stop it. But the judge, Mr Justice McKinnon, yesterday directed the board hearing the courts martial to find Col Mendonca, Kingsman Fallon, Lance Corp Crowcroft and Sgt Stacey not guilty. He directed them to acquit Payne of manslaughter and of intending to pervert the course of justice. Mr Justice McKinnon told the board there was "no evidence" fit to put before them on which they could convict the men.

The case against two others, Major Michael Peebles, the battle group internment review officer, and Warrant Officer Mark Davies, who was in charge of tactical questioning, continues. They both deny neglecting to perform a duty by failing to take steps to ensure that Iraqi civilians were not ill-treated.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/military/story/0,,2013366,00.html