Global Policy Forum

By Richard Norton-Taylor

The fate of more than 60 Iraqis being held by British forces is in the balance after hearings this week before the law lords of potentially huge significance for the conduct of future international military operations abroad. The little-noticed hearings were brought by lawyers acting for Hilal al-Jedda, who has dual British-Iraqi nationality and is one of 62 individuals detained indefinitely by British troops in Basra. British military commanders say he is a security risk.

Mr Jedda came to Britain as an asylum seeker in 1992. He says he returned to Iraq after the fall of Saddam to see his family and friends and introduce his wife to them. His lawyers say it is not surprising he knew people suspected of being insurgents, but that does not mean he was in any way involved in planning a terrorist attack. Mr Jedda has been held without trial for three years despite the European human rights convention, which states that all those held must be brought before a court to be tried or released. The British courts recently ruled that the convention covers British forces operating abroad in situations over which they have control.

The government argues that he can be held indefinitely, along with the other detainees, because British troops in southern Iraq are part of a UN-backed international force and therefore operate under a UN security council mandate and are not covered by European human rights law. The security council resolution which backed the international force in Iraq after the invasion had become a fait accompli authorises "internment where necessary for imperative reasons of security". International lawyers say evidence must be shown that internment is truly necessary. They also argue that the detainees are being held in an area controlled by British - and, increasingly, Iraqi - forces and not the UN or its institutions.

The Ministry of Defence says the detainees have regular access to officials from the Iraq human rights ministry and receive visits by the International Committee of the Red Cross. However, lawyers say now that they are not arguing about their physical treatment as much as Britain's right to detain them at all. A number of detainees have been released over the past few months - 16 in September, according to MoD figures. Defence officials say this is part of a reconciliation process. The detainees are being held at the British base at Basra airport.

Phil Shiner of Public Interest Lawyers, which is acting for Mr Jedda, said yesterday: "The US and UK are manipulating international law through the security council to their own ends. The domestic law consequences are startling. My client is subjected to indefinite executive detention and his habeas corpus right displaced by a decision of the security council sitting in New York."

The law lords' ruling is expected before Christmas.