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On March 23, 2007 Iranian forces detained 15 British sailors and marines in the mouth of the Shatt al-Arab waterway, which runs between Iranian and Iraqi territory.

 

The Iranians say the British personnel were detained because they were in Iranian territorial waters. The British authorities have denied this, saying that the sailors and marines were seized in Iraqi territorial waters.
 

 
Iranian authorities have put three of the British personnel on Iranian television where they apparently acknowledged that they had strayed into Iranian territorial waters.
 

 

  1. Is the treatment of the UK armed forces personnel at the hands of their Iranian captors covered by the Geneva Conventions?
  2. Does this mean that the Geneva Conventions have no relevance in this case?
  3. What international laws do apply?
  4. Is there a precedent for televised “confessions” in Iran?
     

     
    Is the treatment of the UK armed forces personnel at the hands of their Iranian captors covered by the Geneva Conventions?

     

     
    The incident does not appear to be a military confrontation that rises to the level of an armed conflict under the laws of war (nor has the UK or Iran asserted that it has). Thus the Geneva Conventions, which apply to all cases of declared war or of any other armed conflict which may arise between two high contracting parties, do not apply to the situation.
     

     
    Does this mean that the Geneva Conventions have no relevance in this case?
     

     
    Members of armed forces who are taken into custody while participating in military operations should not be treated in a manner contrary to the Geneva Conventions, even if the Conventions technically do not apply. Iran should not be subjecting the detained sailors to public ridicule (Third Geneva Convention, article 13), such as by publicly broadcasting “confessions.”
     

     
    What international laws do apply?
     

     
    This incident falls within the Law of the Sea, which deals with navigational rights between nations. The Vienna Convention on Consular Relations also applies to this situation. Article 36 of the Vienna Convention states that “consular officers shall have the right to visit a national of the sending State who is in prison, custody or detention, to converse and correspond with him and to arrange for his legal representation.” This, to our knowledge, has not taken place despite UK government requests to meet the detained sailors.
     

     
    Is there a precedent for televised “confessions” in Iran?
     

     
    The government-run television frequently airs “confessions” by detained dissidents, intellectuals, writers, journalists, and students, in which the detainees express regret and apologize for their past actions. The culture of televised “confessions” and their contents are very central to the government’s official narrative and interpretation of present and contemporary events.

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