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arrested, are the first British
troops to be charged with
murder in the country since
deployments began in 2001.
—Reuters (File Photo)
LONDON: Five Royal
Marines have been
charged with murder over
a death in Afghanistan
last year, Britain's
Ministry of Defense said Sunday. They are the first
British troops to be
charged with murder in
the country since
deployments began in
2001.
The five are among nine
marines arrested – seven on
Thursday and two in the last
48 hours. Four have been
released without charge.
Officials have said the incident
involved an "engagement
with an insurgent" in Helmand
province, where the majority
of Britain's 9,500 troops in
Afghanistan are deployed. They say no civilians were
involved.
The BBC and other outlets
reported that the arrests
stemmed from video footage
found on the laptop of a
British serviceman who had
been arrested on an unrelated charge.
The Ministry of Defense said
the cases had been referred to
the Service Prosecuting
Authority, which oversees
military trials. The ministry
said the suspects, who have not been named, were in
custody. Even though the incident does
not involve a civilian, the case
could cause a backlash from
Afghans and further erode
efforts to provide political
stability to Afghanistan. The brigade believed to be
involved in the incident, 3
Commando, was in the thick
of the fighting with Taliban
insurgents during its
deployment last year to Helmand, which lies in
Afghanistan's south. Seven
members of the brigade were
killed during the tour of duty
between April and October
2011. British troops operate under
rules of engagement, largely
derived from the Geneva
Convention, that dictate
under what circumstances
they are allowed to open fire. "Everybody serving in
theatre knows the rules of
engagement," Defense
Secretary Philip Hammond
said Sunday, vowing that
"any abuse will be dealt with.
Experts say the military has
been strict about enforcing
the rules after a disastrous
period in Iraq, where there
were multiple allegations of
torture and abuse by British troops. The most notorious case
involved a hotel receptionist,
Baha Mousa, who died while
in custody at a British base
after being detained in a raid
in Basra in September 2003. Britain's defense authorities
later apologized for the
mistreatment of Mousa and
nine other Iraqis and paid a
$4.8 million (3 million pound)
settlement.
Six soldiers were cleared of wrongdoing at a
court martial, while another
pleaded guilty and served a
year in jail.
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