Fresh allegations of abuse by British troops during the 2003 invasion of Iraq are to be heard the UK’s High Court in London on Tuesday, the BBC reported.
The hearing wlll involve 192 Iraqis who say they were mistreated at the hands of soldiers. Claims include sleep deprivation, hooding, and 'sexual degradation', including being forced to watch pornographic material.
Lawyers for the claimants are to push for a full public inquiry in the UK – an official, government backed review of events backed up by law. However, public inquiries cannot charge or sentence individuals involved.
The court will decide whether a previous inquiry run by the British Ministry of Defence was robust enough and sufficiently independent, as well as if mistreatment was systematic. The case is expected to last three days.
Defense lawyers say there are still many cases of abuse yet to be put forward, including potentially hundreds of incidents of mistreatment.
The UK Ministry of Defence has paid out over $24 million to settle accusations of cruelty and false imprisonment in more than 200 cases so far and more are expected.
The UK government has said that a full inquiry would be premature and disproportionate. The invasion of Iraq will have its tenth anniversary in March this year.
