LONDON, Nov. 9 (UPI) -- British military interrogators may face war crimes charges based on films members of their unit took of Iraqi detainees being threatened and abused.
It is believed three men may be prosecuted under the International Criminal Court Act, which prohibits war crimes, The Guardian reported Tuesday. Other military interrogators, including reservists in the Territorial Army, the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force, may also face charges in London, the British newspaper said.
The information came up at the end of proceedings on behalf of 222 Iraqis detained by the British in a secret facility near Basra after the 2003 invasion of Iraq, as part of an effort to force a public investigation of accusations of systematic mistreatment.
Many of the allegedly abusive sessions were filmed by the interrogators themselves, for reasons The Guardian said remain unclear.
A team of military police seized another 1,250 recordings that could be used as future prosecution evidence, the newspaper said.
The Ministry of Defense said it believes a public inquiry would be unnecessary and expensive, and that the military police team should be allowed to continue its investigation.
