LONDON
The International Criminal Court is to examine new claims that British troops abused Iraqi detainees between 2003 and 2008.
U.K. Attorney General Dominic Grieve said, “The government completely rejects the allegation that there was systematic abuse carried out by the British armed forces in Iraq.”
The court’s decision is based on new information provided in January by British law firm, Public Interest Lawyers, and the European Centre for Constitutional and Human Rights, based in Germany.
The information alleges evidence of a large number of cases of ill-treatment or unlawful killings.
The court said that during the preliminary examination the prosecutor will consider issues of jurisdiction, admissibility and the interests of justice in order to decide whether to open an investigation.
The International Criminal Court was established in 2002 by the Rome Statute to intervene in cases of genocide, crimes against humanity and the crime of aggression where countries' national courts are unable or unwilling to investigate these crimes.
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