British Army in Iraq: More Iraqi Civilians Join Calls for a Public Inquiry

Public Interest Lawyers represents a number of Iraqis who seek judicial review of the British army's mistreatment and unlawful internment of them and open and independent (non-military) investigations of the same. There are now 33 such cases.

On 14 November 2009, The Independent newspaper set out the allegations. In fact, many of these cases have been known to the British Government for some time, yet it has refused calls for a public inquiry, individually and collectively, despite calls from Public Interest Lawyers and strong judicial suggestion.

The PIL Report, "British Forces in Iraq: The Emerging Picture of Human Rights Violations and the Role of Judicial Review", summarised the allegations as at 30 June 2009. This report coincided with British troops' withdrawal from Iraq. Since then, many more civilians have felt able to come forward.

Public Interest Lawyers is calling for a single public inquiry to examine all the allegations. Only in this way will systemic problems be recognised and fundamental changes to military training, policy, policing and practice instituted so that such abuses cannot happen again.

See the links on the right hand side of this page for more information.