Four soldiers are to face a court martial charged with abusing prisoners in the first of what could be a series of prosecutions over the conduct of British troops in Iraq.
The prosecution of the soldiers, from the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, was disclosed yesterday by Lord Goldsmith, the attorney general, as the Guardian learned that military police are investigating fresh allegations of ill treatment by British troops after complaints by the Red Cross.
Charges against the four fusiliers include indecent assault, "which apparently involves making the victims engage in sexual activity between themselves", said Lord Goldsmith. They are also accused of military offences - prejudicing good order and military discipline.
In a written statement in the House of Lords, the attorney general said the case "concerns conduct alleged to have occurred while the civilians were being temporarily detained, but not in a prison or detention facility".
It involved "photographic evidence developed in this country and referred to the UK police", he said. Last May Fusilier Gary Bartlam, 18, was arrested and questioned by military police after allegedly taking a film for development at a shop in Tamworth, Staffordshire.
The Ministry of Defence yesterday declined to name the soldiers but two are reportedly Mark Cooley and Daniel Kenyon.
Lord Goldsmith's statement said the trial would be held in a military court and open to the public. No date had been set.
Photographs showed an Iraqi prisoner gagged and bound, stripped to the waist, suspended in the air by netting attached to a forklift truck. Other pictures showed simulated sexual acts involving stripped Iraqi prisoners and British soldiers.
The 1st Royal Regiment of Fusiliers formed part of the 7th Armoured Brigade, the Desert Rats, under the command of Brigadier Graham Binns. It was also involved in the first Gulf war in 1991, losing nine men when American aircraft attacked their armoured personnel carriers in a notorious friendly fire incident.
Lord Goldsmith said yesterday that three further cases had been referred to the army prosecuting authority and were "actively being considered". The authority was aware of at least four other cases which were likely to be referred to them in the very near future, he added.
This made a total of eight cases out of 75 allegations being investigated concerning civilian deaths, injuries or alleged ill-treatment of Iraqi civilians, the attorney said.
One case concerns the death in May last year of Baha Mousa, a Basra hotel receptionist. He died from internal injuries after a raid by soldiers from the Queen's Lancashire Regiment.
Lord Goldsmith also referred to another case of alleged unlawful killing by a British soldier. Since his commanding officer dismissed the charges against the soldier, the case cannot be tried by court martial.
The case - concerning the shooting dead last August in southern Iraq of Hassan Abbad Said - is in the hands of the Crown Prosecution Service and Metropolitan police.
Lord Goldsmith said in his statement that the army prosecuting authority operated independently of the military chain of command and acted under his general supervision.
Meanwhile, the MoD confirmed to the Guardian that the Red Cross has made a complaint about the treatment of Iraqis following a firefight on May 14 near the town of Majar al-Kabir in southern Iraq.
The three-hour engagement was one of the fiercest involving British troops in Iraq since President George Bush proclaimed an end to major hostilities on May 1 2003.
The complaint related to the way "internees" were treated between the time they were arrested after the incident and the time they were transferred to the Shaibah detention centre on the outskirts of Basra, according to the MoD.
The ministry said none of the injuries was caused by a bayonet - a reference to reports that soldiers of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders fixed their bayonets after they were attacked.
The MoD said the military police special investigation branch was looking into the allegations.
The MoD told MPs last week that military police were investigating 75 cases, more than twice the number of civilian deaths and injuries to Iraqis involving British troops than ministers had previously admitted.
The hitherto undisclosed latest case now established by the Guardian follows admissions last month by defence ministers that they were unaware of Red Cross and Amnesty International reports criticising the conduct of British troops.
A British army spokesman in Basra said British forces in Iraq "treated the enemy in jured and captured with the same respect as we treat our own".
Paul Keetch, Liberal Democrat defence spokesman, said: "Those soldiers who besmirch the name of the British army should be dealt with quickly and transparently.
"The people of Britain, and especially those of Iraq, need to see that we will deal vigorously with any bad apples in our military basket."
The high court next month is to hear a legal challenge by relatives of Iraqi civilians allegedly killed and injured by British troops.
They argue that British soldiers are legally liable for the actions in Iraq and are covered by the Human Rights Act.