The Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Fatou Bensouda, announced the closure of a preliminary investigation file into alleged war crimes committed by British soldiers in Iraq, despite the existence of concrete evidence of this, and this came in a statement by the Prosecutor yesterday, Wednesday.

Bensouda stated that she had decided not to file a case before the International Criminal Court against the soldiers, for reasons she described as "professional."

It indicated that there is evidence that British soldiers have committed numerous war crimes, including murder, torture, inhuman treatment, rape and sexual assault of Iraqi prisoners, and added that the British Ministry of Defense and some senior commanders have hindered internal investigations into these crimes.

Bensouda pointed out that the British military and judicial authorities have not been able to conduct an effective and realistic investigation against the soldiers responsible, noting that more than 10 years have passed, but no British soldier has been punished for the aforementioned crimes.

Bensouda's announcement comes after a 6-year investigation into the behavior of British military personnel, especially their treatment of detained Iraqi prisoners.

The Hague-based attorney general announced in 2017 that there are "reasonable grounds" to believe that British soldiers have indeed committed war crimes, but she said yesterday evening that she was unable to find any evidence that Britain protected suspects from prosecution before courts. British.

Bensouda indicated that there is evidence that British soldiers committed many war crimes in Iraq (European)

The court, established in 2002, is the only independent court to look into the most heinous crimes in the world, the "court of last resort", and will only intervene if its member states have demonstrated no desire or ability to try suspects.

Last June, an independent British investigator looking into accusations of British soldiers committing war crimes in Iraq between 2003 and 2009, said that thousands of complaints had been dropped except for one.

Bensouda criticized the initial British response to the accusations, considering it insufficient, and criticizing his weakness "for his lack of sincere efforts to conduct independent or impartial related investigations."

She acknowledged that the British authorities subsequently made efforts to properly investigate violations, but complained that after a decade-long investigation, there had been no prosecutions, "thus depriving the victims of justice."

Her office also monitored "many points of concern related to how specific decisions are taken on certain matters" during the British internal investigation.

"However, the International Criminal Court is not a human rights body charged with deciding whether conditions of human rights law or domestic law were violated during internal trials," Bensouda said.

On the other hand, she added, her task is to decide whether she should exercise her jurisdiction in a criminal case instead of the state.

In that case, the International Criminal Court will only intervene in the absence of any sincere attempt, in its opinion, to bring suspects to justice.

After a detailed investigation, Bensouda said her office "cannot confirm accusations that the British investigative and prosecution services have been involved in providing protection, based on an examination of the information in front of it."