Red Cap trial families ‘excluded’

From top left: Sergeant Simon Alexander Hamilton-Jewell; Corporal Russell Aston; Corporal Paul Graham Long; Corporal Simon Miller; Lance-Corporal Benjamin Hyde; Lance-Corporal Thomas Keys.The six men were all based at Goojerat Barracks in Colchester, Essex

The parents of six Royal Military Police soldiers killed in Iraq say they are being “excluded” from the trial of the men accused of their murder.

The Red Caps were killed by a mob in the town of Majar al-Kabir in the south of the country in 2003.

Their relatives say they are not allowed access to the court, or any form of live video of the proceedings, only a daily email summary of events.

The trial is due to begin in Iraq on 29 September

Mike Aston, whose son Russell was one of those killed, said the parents were told two years ago they would be taken to see part of the trial process by the then-defence secretary John Hutton.

That offer was withdrawn by his successor Bob Ainsworth on safety grounds.

Mr Aston said the planned daily e-mail was not enough.

He told the BBC: “I’m a reasonable person. I would be happy with a video link. Especially as the government has said that any trip out there would be foolhardy.

“But I don’t trust the authorities – the government and the Army. It’s been like pulling teeth for seven years. They have wanted us to just go away,” he said.

Timeline

24 June 2003 – Six soldiers are killed by a mob while defending a police station in Al Majar al-Kabir, 120 miles north of Basra.

22 January 2004 – Sgt Simon Hamilton-Jewell’s brother calls for a public inquiry into the deaths of the six men. This request has so far been rejected.

31 March 2006 – An inquest into their killings finds that the men had been given antiquated radios and inadequate ammunition. However, Coroner Nicholas Gardiner ruled that their deaths could not have been avoided.

4 May 2006 – Iraqi authorities issue first of 16 warrants for the arrest of suspects.

12 February 2010 – Eight Iraqis arrested in connection to the case

August 2010 – Armed Forces Minister Nick Harvey informs the men’s families that five of the seven remaining suspects had seen their charges dropped

“We need proof that the trial has actually taken place. We don’t know what happened in that room. We just want to see justice done and find out how our sons behaved and what happened to them.”

MoD sources told the BBC that the ministry had investigated the possibility of some kind of streaming or video link from the court, however the decision to put in place any such video link was entirely up to the Iraqi judge. British authorities had no jurisdiction in this decision.

The Red Caps who died were: Sgt Simon Hamilton-Jewell, 41, from Surrey; Cpl Russell Aston, 30 from Derbyshire; Cpl Paul Long, 24, from Tyne and Wear, L/Cpl Tom Keys, 20, from North Wales; Cpl Simon Miller, 21, from Tyne and Wear and L/Cpl Ben Hyde, 23, from North Yorkshire.

They had been on a routine operation to train local police, and according to some reports had been playing football with the Iraqi police officers when a crowd of between 400 and 500 people attacked.

The six men were chased into a police station, where they were shot.

After local elders put out a request for witnesses, 16 people were initially arrested and charged.

In 2006, an inquest heard that the men had been given radios that did not work and not enough ammunition, but the coroner ruled that the deaths could not have been avoided.

The Ministry of Defence is preparing a comment on the families’ claims.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

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