British prisoners could be executed

By Donald Macintyre

Prisoners taken by British forces will be liable for execution by the Iraqi authorities despite the government’s declaration that it opposed the decision by the interim government in Baghdad to restore the death penalty.

Britain’s decision to continue handing over detained insurgents and others charged with capital crimes became clear yesterday after the Danish military suspended the routine handover of their own prisoners to UK forces for fear they could be executed.

The Danish Defence Ministry disclosed that its 500-strong forces in Basra and the nearby southern town of Qurnah, had stopped handing over its prisoners to UK forces, who maintain the dominant military role in the area. Denmark, which like the UK opposes the death penalty, wants a firm pledge that such prisoners would not be executed.

But the British Ministry of Defence said yesterday: "There will be situations in which we have no choice but to hand over detainees."

Britain repeated its opposition to capital punishment after Iyad Allawi’s interim government said on Sunday it was re-instituting the death penalty.

The British embassy in Baghdad - while saying the detainees would be dealt with on a "case by case" basis - repeated the MoD formula yesterday. A spokeswoman said that while UN resolution 1546 provided for internment by coalition forces in exceptional circumstances this was not a long-term alternative to handing over detainees to Iraqi.

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/story.jsp?story=550114