LONDON, Dec 14: A court on Tuesday backed an independent inquiry into charges that British troops beat to death an Iraqi civilian prisoner, in a test case overruling Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon's rejection of such a probe.

The High Court ruled in favour of the family of Baha Mousa, a 26-year-old hotel worker who died in British military custody days after his arrest on September 14, 2003 near the southern Iraqi city of Basra.

In a test case, the court held that Britain's obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights extended to "outposts of the state's authority" in foreign lands, including prisons run by British troops.

Five other families had applications for judicial reviews rejected because the court said their relatives had not been in the custody of British forces when they died.

Phil Shiner, a lawyer for the families, hailed the decision as a "historic day for human rights and the rule of law" in Britain and called for the immediate appointment of a British judge to investigate Mousa's and other cases.

Prime Minister Tony Blair's office said it would have to study the judgment on Mousa, but the defence ministry welcomed the court's decision to reject the five other cases before it.

The court, which denounced "the dilatoriness of the investigative process" conducted by the Royal Military Police into Mousa's death, opened the way for an independent inquiry, unless their decision is overturned on appeal. -AFP