Landmark ruling: Government loses appeal on Iraqi death

The Government today lost a challenge to a High Court ruling which overturned its refusal to order an “independent and effective” inquiry into the death of an Iraqi civilian allegedly unlawfully killed by British troops.

The families of five other Iraqi civilians who are seeking inquiries into their deaths - but lost in the High Court - lost challenges in the Court of Appeal against that decision today.

In December last year, two judges in London ruled in favour of the family of hotel worker Baha Mousa, 26, who was allegedly tortured and beaten to death while in custody in September 2003.

But the five other families had applications for judicial reviews rejected.

All six families had claimed that they were entitled under human rights laws to unprecedented investigations into whether troops were guilty of unlawful killing.

Decisions in all of the appeals were given by Lord Justice Brooke, sitting with Lord Justices Sedley and Richards

Lawyers described their ruling as a “landmark” judgment.

Two High Court judges ruled last December that the case of Mr Mousa, who was in the custody of British troops at the time of his death, came within the UK’s jurisdiction.

But the other five cases, where those allegedly unlawfully killed were not in custody, failed.

In a statement given out today after the Court of Appeal judgment, lawyers for the families said: “The Court of Appeal have today handed down a landmark judgment about the torture and abuse of Iraqi civilians in detention with UK Armed Forces in occupied Iraq.”