British soldiers begin abuse trial

OSNABRUECK, Germany -- A court-martial jury viewed photos of what prosecutors called ''shocking and appalling" mistreatment of Iraqis as three British soldiers went on trial yesterday for the alleged abuse.

One soldier pleaded guilty to beating an Iraqi detainee, but he and the two others rejected all other charges at the opening of Britain's first case of its kind to go to trial.

Photos taken in May 2003 by British soldiers showed a bound Iraqi being dangled over a loading dock by a forklift, another being subjected to a simulated kick, and both Iraqis stripped and simulating sexual acts together.

''It cannot be said that those images depict something that is anything other than shocking and appalling," the prosecutor, Lieutenant Colonel Nick Clapham, told the court.

Photos of alleged mistreatment published in a British newspaper led to investigations against the three men.

Prosecutors alleged the events happened on a single day at a warehouse compound west of Basra that British troops had taken in April 2003 and were using to stockpile food aid for Iraqis.

To combat nightly looting by locals, the compound's commander had given orders to capture looters and make them ''work hard" at the site, known as Breadbasket Camp, Clapham said.

Lance Corporal Darren Larkin, 30, pleaded guilty to one count of battery after prosecutors alleged he was the man shown in one photo standing with both feet on a tied-up Iraqi lying on the ground.

Corporal Daniel Kenyon, 33, and Lance Corporal Mark Cooley, 25, pleaded not guilty.

Several counts against Kenyon, who outranks the two others, involve charges that he failed to stop the alleged incidents.