CAGE International to Launch War Crimes Complaint Against Robert Jenrick and Ben Wallace

London - CAGE International announces intention to file a war crimes complaint against former ministers, Robert Jenrick and Ben Wallace. This comes in response to Jenrick's recent campaign video, in which he states British forces are “killing rather than capturing ‘terrorists’” to prevent their release under human rights laws, specifically referencing Ben Wallace’s 2023 Telegraph Interview. CAGE international is currently consulting specialist barristers in light of these admissions to assist in filing a formal complaint with the Metropolitan Police War Crimes Unit.

The campaign video, shared on social media, also features footage of the Qala-i-Jangi massacre which took place in 2001 in northern Afghanistan, which survivors have described as the largest mass killing of prisoners in U.S. history, with longstanding suspicions of British involvement.

Jenrick's public acknowledgment of extrajudicial killings indicates an awareness of war crimes being committed, which he has inadvertently revealed.

Commenting on Robert Jenrick’s claims, Moazzam Begg, CAGE International Senior Director and Former Guantanamo Bay prisoner said:

“In his video promoting his bid for the leadership of the Conservative party, Robert Jenrick is pulling no punches. He wants to appear tough on immigration, tough on crime, tough on terrorism. He is appealing to the growing far right sentiment across Europe and Muslims are his unsaid but specifically intended quarry. His messaging is deliberate as his wording is precise. He cares not about the connotations of admitting that British forces carry out extrajudicial murder of suspects in order to avoid the law. He knows well, once you've invoked the terrorism label anything is possible. The video he uses to illustrate his point is taken from the 2002 massacre at Qala-i-Jangi where over 500 largely unarmed Taliban prisoners were bombed, shot, drowned, burned or electrocuted to death. Though a war crime largely conducted by US and Afghan forces, British SBS elite soldiers played a key role in the killings. The fact that no one has been held accountable for one of the largest prison massacres in modern history explains why the man who aspires to become Prime Minister of Britain one day can cite it with such ease.”

CC image courtesy of Number10 on Flickr