[JURIST] British Colonel Jorge Mendonca, the commander in charge of the Queen's Lancashire Regiment [official website] troops in Iraq, faces the possibility of court martial and jail time for his alleged involvement in the death of a detainee by forces under his command in 2003. Baha Mousa, an Iraqi hotel clerk, was arrested by troops in the regiment and discovered dead two days later with strangulation marks, a broken nose and three broken ribs. The Royal Military Police's Special Investigation Branch [official website] has handed over results of their 10-month investigation into Mousa's death to the Army Prosecuting Authority, which is now considering whether there is enough evidence to bring a court martial against Mendonca. Mendonca, who was awarded the Distinguished Service Order for his service in Iraq, could become the first serving British officer court-martialed over claims of prisoner abuse. AFP has more.
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