An Iraqi court on Sunday freed two men accused of being part of a hundreds-strong mob that killed six British troops in 2003, angering the soldiers' parents but drawing smiles from those in the courtroom.
Judge Baligh Hamdi's decision to throw out the case against Hamza Hateer, 33, and Mussa Ismael al-Fartusi, 39, means no one has yet been convicted over the military policemen's killing, though seven arrest warrants remain outstanding.
"The court did not see sufficient proof to condemn you and has decided to release you," the judge told the pair in the Central Criminal Court of Iraq after hearing from eight witnesses, all of them serving or retired policemen.
The six troops were killed when a mob of about 400 people attacked a police station in Majar Al-Kabir, southern Iraq, on June 24, 2003.
Four Iraqis were also killed and 17 injured in the incident, according to then village chief Abu Maryam.
In Britain, the father of one of the killed policemen, 21-year-old Corporal Simon Miller, said he was "devastated" by the news. John Miller, 59, from north-east England, said: "My son was let down so badly in life, now he has been let down so badly in death. I'm devastated, I just can't believe it."
In the courtroom, however, Iraqis attending the hearing broke out into smiles after the judge announced the charges were being dropped.
"It is not logical to accuse Iraqis of killing soldiers occupying our country," said a court employee who did not want to give his name.
Residents of Majar al-Kabir had a similar reaction, with 30-year-old policeman Mohammed Faleh Hassan telling AFP: "This is the right decision which shows the independence of the justice system. "We know those two men and they are innocent - they had nothing to do with all this."
Prosecutor Mohammed Samer said he was dropping charges, which he said had been based on the testimony of "secret informers" not present in Sunday's session, the first hearing in the case.
"Today there is nothing to confirm their involvement in killing the soldiers," Samer told the court.
Britain's defence ministry pledged to continue pressing for those behind the killings to be prosecuted. "We know that the families of the six servicemen will be devastated by today's events and our thoughts remain with them," a ministry spokeswoman said.
"Seven further arrest warrants remain outstanding and are being actively pursued by the Iraqi authorities. We will continue to do all we can to press for the prosecution of those responsible."
Mohsen Hammadi, the now-retired police chief of the station where the Britons had become trapped while on a mission to restore facilities after a bout of looting, recounted he had not seen the accused among the crowd. "When people started to gather around us we tried to run away through a rear window at the station," the former officer recalled. "But the British soldiers refused, saying they had no orders to withdraw."
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