QC Martin Heslop, who was responsible for prosecuting the defendants, claimed that they "brutally assaulted a number of unarmed Iraqi civilians, causing causing serious injuries from which one died", and "the paratroopers had been in pursuit of a white pick-up truck when they passed a white Toyota containing Mr Abdullah and Athar Saddam" and boxed in the vehicle before "dragging the deceased and the driver out and attacking them".
Heslop also claimed that the soldiers had faced no hostility from Abdullah and the incident was "nothing more than gratuitous violence meted out on a number of innocent and unarmed Iraqi civilians".
The court-martial lasted until 3 November 2005, when the president judge in the trial, Jeff Blackett, directed the panel which heard the court martial to return not guilty verdicts on the defendants after criticising the "inadequate" investigation into the case.
Blackett noted that though the prosecutors had presented their case "properly and objectively", "it has become clear to everyone involved as the trial has progressed that the main Iraqi witnesses had colluded to exaggerate and lie about the incident."
BBC correspondent Paul Adams said there was an "underlying sense" that some of the witnesses were "out to try and get something for themselves", and added that "[a] number of questions were going to be asked about why the trial had been mounted".