British courts open way for probe into death of Iraqi citizen
Publish date: 03 January 2005
Issue Number: 1245
Diary: Legalbrief Today
Category: Human rights
A British High Court has ruled in favour of the family of an Iraqi citizen who was allegedly beaten to death by British troops.
The family had sought to have an inquiry opened into hotel worker Baha Mousa\'s (26) death, reports The Scotsman. Lawyers for Defence Secretary, Geoff Hoon, had contended that an investigation could not be held under the provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights as it did not apply to British troops in south-east Iraq. But the judges held that the UK\'s obligations under the convention extended to \'outposts of the state\'s authority\' in foreign lands. Full report in The Scotsman
