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U.K. soldier charged with shooting Iraqi boy

By Richard Norton-Taylor

BAGHDAD, JULY 4. A British soldier is to be court martialled over the shooting of a young boy in Iraq, the U.K. Attorney-General has said.

Private Alexander Johnston, of the 1st Battalion of the King's Own Scottish Borderers, has been charged with unlawful wounding.

He was on guard duty in Uzayr, south of Amara, when the 13-year-old was shot on September 15 last year. The boy survived but the Ministry of Defence refused to give details of his condition, citing patient confidentiality.

Pte. Johnston could face an alternative charge of ``negligent handling of a weapon'', according to the office of the Attorney-General, Lord Goldsmith.

No date has yet been set for the trial or preliminary hearing. The location of the venue for the trial is also undecided.

However, a spokeswoman for Lord Goldsmith said: `` The general approach is these things should be held in Iraq.''

The U.K. Government has made a policy decision for the Attorney-General to announce prosecutions of British soldiers in Iraq to Parliament.

It says it demonstrates the independence of the military police and army prosecutors who come under the overall supervision of the Attorney-General.

Pte. Johnston is the fifth soldier to face a court martial as a result of incidents in the British-controlled area of south-eastern Iraq.

Earlier this month Lord Goldsmith announced that four soldiers from the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers have been charged.

The charges include indecent assault, ``which apparently involves making the victims engage in sexual activity between themselves'', said Lord Goldsmith. —

© Guardian Newspapers Limited 2004

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