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<a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_pictures/4185719.stm" eudora="autourl">http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_pictures/4185719.stm</a><br><br>
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<div align="center"><font size=3> <b>British Army Chief
Condemns Abuse</b> <br>
</font> BBC News <br>
<dl>
<dd>Perhaps inevitably some people in the media have described this as
Britain's Abu Ghraib.</b> <br><br>
<dd>-- BBC correspondent Paul Adams<br><br>
</i></div>
</dl> Head of the British Army, General Sir Mike
Jackson, has said he "condemns utterly" abuse, as three
soldiers face charges of mistreating Iraqi civilians. <br><br>
Nine charges against the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers
soldiers include forcing prisoners to simulate sex acts at a Basra aid
camp in May 2003. <br><br>
Lance Corporal Darren Larkin admitted one charge of
assaulting an unknown man at the camp but denied another charge.
<br><br>
Two other soldiers pleaded not guilty at the court
martial in Germany. <br><br>
Corporal Daniel Kenyon, 33, and Lance Corporal Mark
Cooley, 25, from Newcastle upon Tyne, entered not guilty pleas at the
court martial in Osnabruck. <br><br>
'Inevitable Comparison'</b> <br><br>
The court martial, which is expected to last three to
four weeks, comes just days after a US soldier was sentenced to 10 years
in jail after he was found guilty of abusing prisoners at Abu Ghraib
jail, near Baghdad. <br><br>
Specialist Charles Graner was regarded as the
ringleader at the centre of an abuse scandal at the jail. <br><br>
BBC correspondent Paul Adams said it was inevitable
that some people in the media would describe the case involving the UK
soldiers as "Britain's Abu Ghraib". <br><br>
But it was important to stress "at this extremely
early stage" in proceedings that nothing heard so far pointed to
"an institutional quality" that was a key aspect of the Abu
Ghraib affair, he said. <br><br>
At the court martial William England, representing
L/Cpl Larkin, said his client was ashamed of the offence to which he had
pleaded guilty. <br><br>
He said: "He knows he has brought shame on his
proud regiment, his name and his family." <br><br>
<div align="center">Sir Mike would not comment on the case directly, or
on 22 photographs depicting the alleged abuse of Iraqi prisoners taken
from the cameras of five servicemen, which were shown to the court.
<br><br>
</div>
But he stressed that of the 65,000 British troops who
had served in Iraq only a "small number" had been accused of
any mistreatment. <br><br>
The general said the court martial's outcome would be
studied to see if it raised any further issues for the army. <br><br>
Sir Mike said: "I have every confidence in the
military investigative and judicial system," he added. <br><br>
The photographs include a picture of two naked Iraqi
men simulating anal sex with their thumbs raised to the camera and a
photograph of two Iraqi men simulating oral sex. <br><br>
'Not Guilty'</b> <br><br>
The offences are alleged to have taken place at the
aid camp, known as Camp Bread, on or around 15 May 2003, weeks after
coalition troops had ousted Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's regime.
<br><br>
Defence counsel for L/Cpl Larkin, 30, from Oldham,
Greater Manchester, told the court martial he had always admitted
responsibility for the "unacceptable and mindless" assault,
which he said had "brought shame on his proud regiment and his proud
family". <br><br>
The three soldiers, who face a total of nine charges
between them, are accused of abusing looters who were being detained at
the camp in southern Iraq after attempting to steal powdered milk and
food. <br><br>
Lieutenant Colonel Nick Clapham, prosecuting, told the
hearing the camp's commander Major Dan Taylor had ordered looters should
be "worked hard". <br><br>
This breached the Geneva Convention, Lt Col Clapham
said. <br><br>
"The order to work by Major Taylor was an
unlawful one but, even though the order was unlawful, had the defendants
done no more they would not face the charges they face today," he
added. <br><br>
'Disturbing Content'</b> <br><br>
Evidence of the alleged abuse came to light when a set
of photographs were left for processing at a shop in Tamworth,
Staffordshire. <br><br>
A developer called police because she was
"disturbed by the content". <br><br>
"It cannot be said that these photographs are of
incidents that are anything other than shocking and appalling," Lt
Col Clapham told the court. <br><br>
The charges also include two relating to the alleged
placing of a detainee on the forks of a forklift truck. <br><br>
If found guilty, the trio, who are stationed at a
British army base in Osnabruck, northern Germany, could be jailed and
discharged from the army. <br><br>
They are being tried before Judge Advocate Michael
Hunter and a panel of British officers. <br><br>
The case has been adjourned until Wednesday morning.
<br><br>
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