Gurkhas accused of murdering boy in nightclub brawl

Six British Army Gurkhas have been charged with murdering a 14-year-old boy during a nightclub brawl in Belize.

The soldiers are the first members of the Royal Gurkha Rifles to face such a serious criminal prosecution in the regiment's 200-year history. The charges follow an extensive and prolonged investigation by the Royal Military Police into the death in May last year.

The six have been remanded in military custody at Dover and Pirbright, Surrey, for seven days. A court martial will be held later this year at Army headquarters in Colchester, Essex. Officials from Belize are expected to attend.

The dead boy, David Zabaneh junior, was drinking with a group of schoolfriends, including Said Musa, the 16-year-old son of Said Wilbert Musa, the premier of Belize, when trouble broke out at a club called Raul's Rose Garden, near the capital. Belize City. A strip show was being staged at the club, also alleged to be a brothel, at the time of the incident. Members of the SAS, who are believed to have been involved with the Gurkhas in the fighting, were also questioned by the military police, but none has been charged. All the soldiers involved had just finished a jungle warfare exercise in the Central American country, and Raul's Rose Garden was regarded as a traditional place for rest and recreation.

David Zabaneh, the son of a wealthy local businessman, was flown to a hospital in Tampa, Florida, for emergency surgery, but died three days later. Several Gurkhas and members of the SAS were also injured in the violence.

More than 50 soldiers were interviewed by officers from the Special Investigation Branch (SIB) of the Royal Military Police. Investigators travelled to the Balkans and Northern Ireland during the course of the inquiry.

The six Gurkhas, who were attached at the time of the boy's death to Charlie Company of the 2nd Battalion The Parachute Regiment, were charged with murder after the SIB had submitted a report to the Army Prosecuting Authority.

David Howell, a civilian lawyer representing the men, failed in his plea to an Army board on Wednesday, that the soldiers should be allowed bail to continue their normal duties until the court martial.

Some of the SAS members, from D Squadron, may face disciplinary charges over the nightclub fight, although that is still to be decided.

A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: "Six soldiers were charged with murder in connection with the death of a Belizean civilian in May 2001."

The death of the boy caused a massive outcry in Belize, and a joint Belizean and British Army inquiry was opened immediately.

SIB officers have been keeping their Belizean counterparts informed on the progress of the investigation and the decision to bring charges. Almost a hundred witnesses, some from Belize, are expected to appear at the court martial.

Gurkhas, from the Himalayan kingdom of Nepal, began serving the British Crown in 1815 in India.

After Indian independence in 1947, a tripartite agreement was signed between Britain, Nepal and India under which Nepalese Gurkhas were allowed to serve in the British and Indian armies. Nearly 3,600 are still serving with the British Army and in recent years they have taken part in operations in Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan and Sierra Leone.

Some of the terms and conditions under which Gurkhas serve in the British Army are inferior to other military personnel, and a campaign is under way for them to be granted equal status.

An Army spokesman said the six Gurkhas were from Shorncliffe Barracks at Dover.