LONDON,
July 3 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - The lawyer for some 650
women in Kenya who claim they were raped by British troops on maneuvers
in the east African country was confident they will win a court fight
for compensation.
Martyn
Day told reporters in London on Wednesday, July 2, that his clients were
altogether seeking up to 20 million pounds (28.8 million euros, 33.3
million dollars) in damages from the Ministry of Defense.
Speaking
to reporters, he said that 2,000-odd troops had been involved in rape
"ambushes" in the vicinity of British military bases in Kenya
stretching back to 1977, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).
"These
seem to be systematic ambushes on Kenyan women by British
soldiers," said Day, who last year won a separate case against the
Ministry of Defense concerning deadly unexploded ordnance in Kenya.
Day
said he will be seeking between 20,000 and 30,000 pounds in civil
damages for each rape victim through the High Court in London. His
clients have been granted legal aid to cover their costs.
"I'm
absolutely confident we are going to settle this case," said Day, a
founder of Leigh, Day and Company, a London-based law firm that
specializes in personal injury claims.
No
Comment
The
Ministry of Defense refused all comment.
"A
military police investigation is ongoing, and it would be improper to
comment while that investigation is still ongoing," a spokeswoman
said.
Thousands
of British soldiers from different regiments are sent each year to Kenya
- a former British colony - for training, under an agreement between
London and Nairobi.
The
sexual assaults are claimed to have occurred around the villages of Dol
Dol, Wamba, Isiolo, and around Archers Post, all in central Kenya.
Some
of the women claim that they were subjected to gang-rape by groups of
soldiers who treated the attacks virtually as a leisure activity.
Dozens
say they have given birth to mixed-race children, who have faced
stigmatization from other tribespeople.
"It's
almost as if the British army felt it could throw away its
rulebook," Day said.
He
said one of the worst incidents, documented during interviews he
conducted with alleged victims, occurred near the village of Lekiji in
November 1999.
Six
local women collecting firewood along a river near the village were said
to have been surrounded, then raped by some 18 soldiers from the Gurkha
regiment.
The
Gurkhas, one of the most celebrated British regiments, recruits its rank
and file in Nepal, and includes British commanding officers.
Criminal
Prosecution
Amnesty
International, the London-based human rights group, called for a
commission of inquiry into the rape claims and criminal prosecutions of
individual soldiers.
"Half
the allegations are about gang-rape," Irene Khan, Amnesty
International's secretary general, told reporters alongside Day.
Khan
said she has written to British Prime Minister Tony Blair seeking his
support for an official inquiry.
Day
said that U.S. troops have used British training grounds in Kenya during
the past four to five years, but Khan said she was not aware of any rape
claims involving them.
