Court allows Iraqi death challenge
LONDON, England -- A British court has cleared the way for 12 Iraqi families to challenge the UK government's refusal to hold independent inquiries into the deaths of their relatives.
London's High Court on Tuesday ruled the families should be given permission to argue that the European Convention on Human Rights applied to their cases.
"Permission means merely that the point is arguable," Judge Justice Andrew Collins said.
The UK Ministry of Defence has refused to accept responsibility for the deaths of the 12 men in Iraq.
The families allege the men were killed unlawfully by British troops, as the Iraq war was officially over.
Lawyers for the families are demanding a judicial review to examine whether the deaths were a violation of the victims' right to life under European law.
Many of the deaths occurred when the victims were at home or going about their normal daily lives, the lawyers said.
One man was working on a farm, another was fishing on a river and another was returning home in his car.
The Ministry of Defence had no immediate response to Tuesday's ruling.
