Iraq Issues Arrest Warrant for "Immune" British Soldiers

Iraq Issues Arrest Warrant for "Immune" British Soldiers

BASRA, September 24, 2005 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - An Iraqi judge
in the southern city of Basra on Saturday September 24, issued an arrest
warrant for two British soldiers for killing a policeman, but London
immediately played the immunity card.

"The investigative judge in Basra issued an arrest warrant against the two
British terrorists on charges of opening fire on two policemen, killing one
and wounding the other," Mohammed Saadum Al-Ebaidi, head of the Basra
provincial council told Agence France Presse (AFP).

Judge Raghib Hassan issued the warrants on Thursday, September 22, accusing
the men of killing an Iraqi policeman and wounding another, carrying
unlicensed weapons and holding false identification.

The whereabouts of the two soldiers, who were working undercover and wore
Arab dress, was not clear.

The soldiers were arrested by Iraqi police on Monday, September 19.

More than ten British tanks backed by helicopters have smashed through the
walls of a jail in Basra Tuesday, September 20, to free them.

The operation provoked anti-British protests when several hundred
demonstrators attacked British forces besieging the police station in Basra.

The 41-member governing council demanded Thursday, September 22, an apology
and compensation for the use of force and halted all cooperation with the
British authorities.

There are around 8,500 British troops stationed in Iraq.

Immune

A joint British-Iraqi probe is now underway into the incident.

British military officials in Basra said they were aware of reports
involving the arrest warrants, but had not been officially informed of them.

The British Ministry of Defense said it had not received any arrest warrants
for the soldiers, adding that in any case the warrants would have no legal
basis, reported Reuters.

"All British troops in Iraq come under the jurisdiction of Britain," a
defense spokesman said in London.

US-led occupation forces in Iraq, including some 8,500 British troops, are
immune from prosecution under Iraqi law.

Although Iraqi Premier Ibrahim Jaafari had attempted to play down the issue,
the incident revealed the fragility of the peace that exists in the city,
which has been relatively calm since the US-led invasion-turned-occupation
of the oil-rich Arab country.

British troops have confined themselves to barracks in and around Basra,
lowering their profile in an effort to tamp down tensions.

Basra residents said British forces were nowhere to be seen on the city's
streets, whereas they would normally be involved in daily joint patrols with
the Iraqi police and military.

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