British soldiers cleared of Iraqi civilian's death could now face prosecution

Said Shabram, 19, drowned in a river after allegedly being forced into the water by British troops in a practice known as 'wetting'

(Getty)

Three British soldiers could be taken to court over the death of an Iraqi teenager who died in military custody 13 years ago despite having been cleared of any wrongdoing in a 2006 inquiry.

Said Shabram,19, drowned in the Shatt al-Arab river after allegedly being forced into the water by British troops in a practice known as “wetting”.

The soldiers, including a decorated major as well as two current serving personnel, were originally cleared by an internal military investigation in 2006 with the family of Said Shabram later receiving £100,000 in compensation from the Ministry of Defence in 2011 in an out-of-court settlement.

However, The Iraq Historic Allegations Team (Ihat) which was set up by the Labour Government in 2010 to investigate allegations of murder, torture and abuse by British servicemen against Iraqi civilians has since reviewed the case and recommended prosecution of the soldiers to the Director of Service Prosecutions.

Speaking to The Daily Telegraph, the Conservative MP and former Army Officer Johnny Mercer branded the decision as a “betrayal” and “a self-inflicted disgrace”.

Mr Mercer, who has just started chairing a parliamentary select committee inquiry into the post-operational support given to armed forces personnel said that he was “deeply ashamed” of the decision and labelled Ihat and the 1,500 cases it is currently investigating as a “fatally flawed process” that should be shut down.

He added that: “These men have been cleared before. How can soldiers keep being put under investigation time and time again? Ihat should be shut down. It is beyond a joke”.

“The trouble is it is not really funny because it is destroying lives.”

While the identity of the soldiers remains secret, Hilary Meredith, a lawyer acting for the Major involved in the case said that “he has lost his career; he has lost his sanity; and he is in pain 24 hours a day from his physical injuries”.

An Ihat spokesman said: “We have referred three individuals to the Service Prosecution Authority (SPA). The referral asks the SPA to consider prosecution in relation to the death of a civilian Iraqi male, who drowned in May 2003. It is now up to the SPA to consider all of the evidence gathered by Ihat investigators and make a decision”,

The spokesman confirmed to The Daily Telegraph that two of the individuals were serving soldiers and the third had retired from the forces, adding: “We will not be commenting further.”