Corporal Donald Payne
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Corporal Donald Payne is a soldier in the British Army who became the first member of the British armed forces to admit to committing a war crime, when he plead guilty on 19 September 2006 to a charge of inhumane treatment under the International Criminal Court Act 2001[1].
On 14 September 2003, a number of Iraqis were detained by British forces in raids on hotels in Basra. The detainees were taken to a three-room building in Basra, where they were questioned for 36 hours. Among the detainees was Baha Mousa, a 26 year old employee of the Haitham Hotel in Basra, who died as a result of the interrogation. The subsequent post-mortem found ninety-three injuries[1].
On 19 July 2005, attorney general Lord Goldsmith announced that Payne was being charged with manslaughter, perverting the course of justice and inhumane treatment of persons under the International Criminal Court Act 2001. On the same day another ten soldiers were also charged with similar crimes, six relating to the death of Mousa and four relating to the death of another Iraqi, Ahmed Jabber Kareem Ali, on 8 May 2003[2].
[edit] References
- ^ a b British soldier admits war crime. BBC News (19 September 2006). Retrieved on 2006-09-23.
- ^ UK soldiers face war crimes trial. BBC News (20 July 2005). Retrieved on 2006-09-23.
