Iran may charge Brits as spies (indictments possibly coming)

Sunday Times via The Australian ^ | March 26, 2007 | Correspondents in New York and London

[jdm]

FIFTEEN British sailors and marines arrested by Iran off the coast of Iraq could be charged with spying and held until the US releases five Iranian Revolutionary Guards seized by US forces in Iraq earlier this year.

Reports yesterday said a website run by associates of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had reported that the arrested Britons would be put before a court and indicted.

Referring to them as "insurgents", the site said: "If it is proven that they deliberately entered Iranian territory, they will be charged with espionage. If that is proven, they can expect a very serious penalty since, according to Iranian law, espionage is one of the most serious offences."

[b4its2late]

They should have waited till Dubya and Blair left office because they have no idea what's coming...

ABG, I pray you are right... Here's what I thought last night though. Hope I'm wrong.

Iran ‘to try Britons for espionage’
	Posted by b4its2late to Weight of Glory On News/Activism 03/24/2007 8:25:55 PM EDT · 2 of 103 They are asking for it..... Now the question is.... Can the western (as in UK & US) wienies deliver it? My guess is no... NO BALLS! Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies

[SandRat]

"If it is proven that they deliberately entered Iranian territory, they will be charged with espionage.

Hey awww-MEME-Dumb! If they were in the military uniform of a sovereign state and non-belligerants to your sovereign state at the time they were taken they are not SPYS! Read the Geneva Hague Protocols; YA STUPID TWIT!

[abclily]

AMEN!

[Publius6961]

The captain of the British ship is not to blame. His ROE did not permit him to respond on his own so he asked London for permission to respond which was denied.

The HMS Cornwall had a helo up and knew that the Iranians had left port and were heading for the boarded frieghter before the actual capture took place. The helo montitored the entire incident as it occurred.

You didn't say so, but are suggesting that the ROEs prevent the captain from including an adequate pretective force for boarding parties?
Very very strange ROEs...

As I recall, the Captain of the USS Cole was promptly replaced for similar reasons.

[EGPWS]

We either fight Islam now, or let Islam spread it's disease ridden plague on the human race "again"...

[Publius6961]

[Grut]

Spies???? Wearing the military uniform of their country! Odd sorts of spies.

Iran can always claim they're American spies disguised as Britons! ;^)

[montag813]

According to a retired British Vicer Admiral, it is easily provable via GPS that these men were in Iraqi waters at the time. Remember that the principal reason these men were taken is to use as a bargaining chip to get back that defected/kidnapped Iranian defense official. That is what the radical student sources are saying, and clearly reflects the will of the Mullahs, who are the real power behind Imadinnerjacket's throne. Iran is experimenting with Hizbollah tactics to probe how weak the underbelly of Blair really is.

[TalBlack]

"The absurdity of equating routine legal maritime activities with having enemy combatants in a foreign country simply defies description."

In practice it isn't absurd at all. No one is going to stand up and say: "This is so absurd as to be beneath reason or verbal response. If the Iranians don't stand down IMMEADIATLY they WILL lose their navy."

Moreover: Those sailors among the 15 taken who thought back up units in the vicinity would protect them were mistaken.

Any other British sailors who go out expecting back up protection are stupid.

[gpapa]

The decision to use lethal force to stop an attack in the Persian Gulf can vary widely based on national command authority, e. g., the USA vs Britain for example.

During Gulf War I this was a problem for U. S. interdiction problems as well where multiple nations were part of the operation. General Schwarzkopf was frustrated by his inability to get clear instructions on what level of force was permitted to stop a ship refusing the standard warning to halt. At one point early in the crisis, he stated that instructions to him changed four times in 24 hours as he sought guidance on what measures could be taken to halt a tanker heading into the Gulf

[FreedomNeocon]

Now may be a good time to ask: has the captain of that British military ship been replaced? Surely losing 15 men unnecessarily has got to leave a mark.

Its been reported that the captain frantically called command back in UK and was told to "stand down".

[Abigail Adams]

You must be one of them.

[Abigail Adams]

Those bastards. We (us and the Brits are family, after all) should have blown them out of the water before they reached the area the Brits were operating in.

Mega prayers for the brave sailors. May God bless, comfort, and protect them.

[toddlintown]

"If they're not in Guantanamo they don't care."

Let's get Durbin on this.

[FreedomNeocon]

Welcome to FreeRepublic troll...

[tet68]

Referring to them as "insurgents", the site said: "If it is proven that they deliberately entered Iranian territory, they will be charged with espionage. If that is proven, they can expect a very serious penalty since, according to Iranian law, espionage is one of the most serious offences."


But what if they were just undocumented alien martial workers come to do jobs Iranians won't do?

[gpapa]

The Brits claim they were not inside Iran's territorial waters as stated by Royal Navy Commodore Nick Lambert.

[gtk]

Welcome to FreeRepublic!

Don't suspect that you will last long.