Talk:British war crimes

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The Iraq War section should be updated to reflect the findings from the International Criminal Court (ICC) preliminary examination in 2020. The ICC Prosecutor concluded there was a reasonable basis to believe that British forces committed war crimes in Iraq between 2003 and 2009. These included unlawful killings (including of civilians and children), torture, rape and sexual violence, and inhuman treatment of detainees. The Prosecutor emphasized that these were not isolated incidents, but systematic and widespread across detention facilities and areas controlled by UK troops. The European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) also confirmed the systematic nature of these alleged crimes. The section should be updated to reflect the seriousness and scope of these allegations, and the findings of international bodies.

Sources

1. ICC final report: https://www.icc-cpi.int/sites/default/files/itemsDocuments/2020-PE/2020-pe-report-eng.pdf
2. The European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights: https://www.ecchr.eu/en/press-release/war-crimes-by-uk-forces-iraq-negative-decision-icc/
3. Amnesty International: https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2020/12/icc-decision-on-uk-military-in-iraq-rewards-obstructionism

YAC-med-2010 (talk) 04:50, 11 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]

The Iraq War section currently includes only the Baha Mousa case. I propose expanding it to reflect other well-documented incidents of abuse involving British forces in Iraq. These case have been cited in official investigations, human rights reports, and UK media. As indicated by the ICC examination, the British war crimes in Iraq were widespread and systematic, and the article should reflect that.

• Unlawful killings of civilians: Nadhem Abdullah, who was beaten to death by British soldiers near Al-Ferkah in 2003. Ahmad Jabbar Kareem Ali, a 15-year-old teenager: who was forced by four British soldiers into the Shatt Al-Basra canal, and forced to drown to death. Karem Shabir Saleh: a 19-year-old civilian who died in British custody in Basra in 2003, he was beaten to death by British soldiers.
• Inhumane treatment of detainees and sexual abuse: these occurred at Camp Breadbasket in 2003, where British soldiers were photographed forcing hooded Iraqi detainees into stress positions, and simulating forced sexual acts. Abuses also occurred throughout Basra Detention Facilities, where detainees were being subjected to beatings, hooding, sexual humiliation, and prolonged stress positions by British soldiers.
• Raids and civilian deaths in Maysan and Basra provinces (2004–2007). Several reported cases of civilians, including women and children, killed during house raids or shot at checkpoints.

Sources

1. https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2005/feb/26/military.iraq
2. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-33004679
3. https://www.ecchr.eu/en/press-release/war-crimes-by-uk-forces-iraq-negative-decision-icc/
4. https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2006/mar/10/military.iraq

I am glad to reformulate the suggested edits for the main article if there is a consensus to add them. I just would like to highlight again that the current section about Iraq severely undermines the extent and scale of the crimes of the British soldiers in Iraq. YAC-med-2010 (talk) 03:56, 15 August 2025 (UTC)[reply]