Soldiers quit Army after ’show trial’ over Iraq death

Two of the three soldiers cleared of killing a 15-year-old looter in Iraq announced that they were quitting the Army today, accusing their superiors of scapegoating them.

A panel of seven officers took less than five hours to acquit Guardsman Joseph McCleary, 24, Guardsman Martin McGing, 22, and Colour Sergeant Carle Selman, 39, of manslaughter on Tuesday after a five-week court martial which cost £2.5 million.

The three Guardsmen were accused of ordering 15-year-old Ahmed Jabar Karheem, an asthmatic who could not swim, into the Shatt al-Basra canal in Basra at gunpoint in May 2003. Prosecutors had alleged that Karheem had struggled in “obvious distress” before disappearing under the water and drowning.

As the Ministry of Defence opened an investigation into the death of a 13-year-old Iraqi boy allegedly struck in the head by a rubber bullet yesterday, Guardsmen McGing and McCleary made strident attacks on senior officers and announced their resignations from the Army.

Guardsman McCleary, of Bootle, Merseyside, said he and his comrades had been singled out as scapegoats amid mounting reports of soldiers mistreating Iraqis. He said: “We were told to put the looters in the canal. I was the lowest rank, and we were always told we weren’t paid to think. We just followed orders.

“I don’t know why the Army went ahead with the prosecution. It was when there were reports about British soldiers mistreating Iraqis and they wanted to look like they were doing something. We were scapegoats.”

Guardsman McGing, of Oldbury, West Midlands, said that he had received good support from his regiment but been let down by the Army. He said: “I’m bitter at the way the Army has treated us for doing our duty. I always wanted to be a soldier. Now I have a different view because the Army hung me out to dry.

“They put me in court and led to this hanging over me and my family for three years. I want out as soon as possible.”

He warned soldiers heading to Iraq: “Hire a good lawyer in case the Army stabs you in the back.”

Their acquittals at the Colchester court martial followed the collapse of the trial last November of seven paratroopers accused of murdering an Iraqi civilian. That case cost about £5 million.

The court heard that the policy of “wetting” looters, forcing them into dykes and ditches as punishment, appeared to have been approved higher up the chain of command.

Lord Goldsmith, however, said he was happy the prosecutions had been justified. “I’m quite satisfied it was quite right to bring the case because there was sufficient and credible evidence of wrongdoing,” he said today.

Meanwhile, claims that British troops killed a 13-year-old Iraqi after they fired rubber bullets at an angry crowd were being investigated by the Ministry of Defence.

The soldiers, part of the Maysan battle group, were clearing an area around an improvised explosive device (IED) just south of Al Amarah in south-east Iraq.

More than 100 Iraqis gathered at the scene and started hurling stones at the troops, who fired baton rounds in return.

Two teenage boys - a 15-year-old and a 16-year-old - were hit during the clash, at 7pm local time (1600BST) yesterday.

According to local media reports, a 13-year-old boy was hit and killed. An MoD spokesman said the investigation into the alleged death was “top priority”.

“The Maysan battle group put a cordon around an improvised explosive device in Maysan,” he said. “The purpose of this cordon was to protect civilians while the suspicious device was dealt with.

“A crowd of about 100 people gathered, some of whom began stoning the troops. In order to protect themselves and to maintain the cordon, seven baton rounds were fired.”

The spokesman said the British troops on the ground reported that two teenage boys had been hit.

He went on: “We are aware of reports that a 13-year-old has been killed. We do not have any information to shed light on this matter and we are still investigating.”

Copyright 2006 Times Newspapers Ltd.