EU rights court finds Dutch probe of Iraq checkpoint death faulty; orders payment to family

PARIS – Europe's top human rights court is ordering the Netherlands to pay €25,000 euros ($31,000) in damages to the father of an Iraqi man who was shot dead by a Dutch soldier at a checkpoint in 2004, ruling that the investigation into the killing was inadequate.

According to Thursday's ruling, there was a six-hour delay in interviewing one of the soldiers who fired at the car, the autopsy and pathologist's report were lacking in professionalism and crucial evidence was lost.

Dutch troops were stationed in Iraq from July 2003 to March 2005. The shooting on April 21, 2004, killed 21-year-old Azhar Sabah Jaloud. Jaloud's father brought the case before the Strasbourg, France-based court.