Four Iraqis Win High Court Damages Over Treatment By UK Troops

Four Iraqi citizens have won High Court damages against the Ministry of Defence arising out of their ill-treatment and unlawful detention during the Iraq War.

Damages were awarded to each of them on Thursday by a judge in London.

Mr Justice Leggatt ruled that they were entitled to compensation under the Human Rights Act, with one of the men being awarded more than £30,000.

Lawyers said after the ruling that the result of the four test cases could form the basis of settlement of more than 600 unresolved claims in what is known as the Iraqi Civilian Litigation.

Claims were brought by Iraqi civilians alleging they were unlawfully imprisoned and ill-treated by British armed forces during the war.

Mr Justice Leggatt announced his conclusions after overseeing two High Court trials during which Iraqi citizens gave evidence in an English courtroom for the first time.

The judge said:

"This judgment follows the first full trials of these claims in which the claimants themselves and other witnesses have testified in an English courtroom.

"Four cases have been tried as lead cases. There is no assumption that these four cases are representative of others, but the conclusions reached on the legal issues and some of the factual issues raised are likely to affect many of the remaining cases in the litigation."

In the case of Kamil Najim Alseran, who was captured at his home at the end of March 2003 during the advance on Basra by British forces, the judge awarded £10,000 for ill-treatment following his capture, and £2,700 for 27 days of unlawful detention.

Abd Al-Waheed, who was arrested in a house raid carried out by British soldiers in Basra city in February 2007, was awarded a total of £33,300.

He was awarded £15,000 in "respect of the beating" he suffered after his arrest, £15,000 for what the judge described as "the further inhuman and degrading treatment which he suffered encompassing harsh interrogation, being deprived of sleep and being deprived of sight and hearing".

He was further compensated £3,300 for unlawful detention for 33 days.

The judge awarded damages to two other claimants, who can only be referred to as MRE and KSU for legal reasons.

When the war began, the men were serving on a merchant ship moored in the Khawr az Zubayr waterway north of Umm Qasr.

In March 2003, their ship was boarded by coalition forces and the four crew members, including MRE and KSU, were captured.

MRE was awarded a total of £28,140, made up of £10,000 for "hooding" with sandbags during a road journey, £1,000 for an eye injury sustained as a result of the hooding, and £15,000 for a blow struck to his head, along with £1,440 for the cost of medical treatment, and £600 for six days of unlawful imprisonment.

Mr Justice Leggatt awarded damages to KSU totalling £10,600 for the hooding and the same period of unlawful detention.

Sapna Malik, a partner in the international claims team at Leigh Day, who represented Mr Alseran and Mr Al-Waheed, said:

"These trials took place against an onslaught of political, military and media slurs of Iraqis bringing spurious claims, and strident criticism of us, as lawyers, representing them.

"Yet we have just witnessed the rule of law in action. Our clients are grateful that the judge approached their claims without any preconception or presumption that allegations of misconduct by British soldiers are inherently unlikely to be true.

"Our clients' evidence has been tested at length in court and the Ministry of Defence has been found wanting.

"It is vital that those wronged by the UK Government, whether in this country or overseas, are able to seek justice and redress.

"Their ability to do so in our courts is not a witch-hunt but a testament to the strength of our democracy."

Shubhaa Srinivasan, also a partner at Leigh Day, who represented MRE and KSU, said: "This judgment is a testament to why justice should be allowed to take its course.

"Our clients welcome the judge's finding that recognises their fundamental rights have been breached by the Ministry of Defence and this deserves due recognition under the law by way of awarding damages as an effective remedy.

"The judge arrived at this decision after extensive and impartial scrutiny of the evidence in two separate trials.

"The decision sends a clear message that no-one, including the British Government, should be above the law."

An MoD spokesman said: "Our military personnel served with great courage in Iraq, often working under extremely difficult circumstances.

"We note the court's ruling that these four detainees were not treated as they should have been, and are studying the judgment."