Post by corsair67 on Mar 15, 2006 9:05:33 GMT 12
Will be interesting to see how this develops, and whether he will be made an example of by the UK military/Blair Govt.
RAF officer in Iraq war challenge
By Chris Lines in London
March 14, 2006.
AN Australian-born RAF officer who has refused orders to return for duty in Iraq will face a pre-trial hearing in the UK this week in a case that will test the legality of the western intervention in the country.
Malcolm Kendall-Smith, a 37-year-old military doctor who has served two tours in Iraq, refused to return to the Middle East from his post at the Royal Air Force base of Kinloss in Scotland in June, saying the British intervention in Iraq is illegal.
Kendall-Smith was born in Australia, raised in New Zealand and holds New Zealand and British citizenship.
The doctor, who was decorated for his roles in Afghanistan and Iraq, was officially charged on October 5 for "failing to comply with a lawful order" on five counts.
Four charges relate to his refusal to take part in specific training before returning to Iraq and the fifth concerns his refusal to return to a site near Basra in southern Iraq.
"He looks at his duty as a commissioned officer to examine and consider every single order that is given to him," Justin Hugheston-Roberts, his lawyer, said today.
The case will be subject to a five-day hearing in Aldershot in Hampshire beginning tomorrow that will set the parameters for the court martial which will begin on April 6.
The court will hear legal argument and set directions for the trial.
"It has the capacity to stop the trial dead in its tracks or move in such a way as all we can consider is an appeal," Mr Hugheston-Roberts said.
Mr Hugheston-Roberts said in October his client was prepared to go to prison.
Dr Kendall-Smith is the first British officer to face trial for challenging the legality of the war, and the case is being observed closely for the precedent it sets for others who may also refuse tours of duty.
The case will hinge largely on the weight given to international laws as opposed to British law and will test whether the western intervention was illegal in the eyes of British justice given that it had no United Nations mandate.
The trial will come just two days after UK defence minister John Reid announced the start of a reduction in British troop numbers in Iraq from May.
- with AFP
RAF officer in Iraq war challenge
By Chris Lines in London
March 14, 2006.
AN Australian-born RAF officer who has refused orders to return for duty in Iraq will face a pre-trial hearing in the UK this week in a case that will test the legality of the western intervention in the country.
Malcolm Kendall-Smith, a 37-year-old military doctor who has served two tours in Iraq, refused to return to the Middle East from his post at the Royal Air Force base of Kinloss in Scotland in June, saying the British intervention in Iraq is illegal.
Kendall-Smith was born in Australia, raised in New Zealand and holds New Zealand and British citizenship.
The doctor, who was decorated for his roles in Afghanistan and Iraq, was officially charged on October 5 for "failing to comply with a lawful order" on five counts.
Four charges relate to his refusal to take part in specific training before returning to Iraq and the fifth concerns his refusal to return to a site near Basra in southern Iraq.
"He looks at his duty as a commissioned officer to examine and consider every single order that is given to him," Justin Hugheston-Roberts, his lawyer, said today.
The case will be subject to a five-day hearing in Aldershot in Hampshire beginning tomorrow that will set the parameters for the court martial which will begin on April 6.
The court will hear legal argument and set directions for the trial.
"It has the capacity to stop the trial dead in its tracks or move in such a way as all we can consider is an appeal," Mr Hugheston-Roberts said.
Mr Hugheston-Roberts said in October his client was prepared to go to prison.
Dr Kendall-Smith is the first British officer to face trial for challenging the legality of the war, and the case is being observed closely for the precedent it sets for others who may also refuse tours of duty.
The case will hinge largely on the weight given to international laws as opposed to British law and will test whether the western intervention was illegal in the eyes of British justice given that it had no United Nations mandate.
The trial will come just two days after UK defence minister John Reid announced the start of a reduction in British troop numbers in Iraq from May.
- with AFP
