Gurkha court martial halted

Gurkhas Durgahang Limbu, Ramesh Rai, and Yograj Rai (front to rear)

A court martial in Belize trying three British soldiers, charged with being involved in a brawl in which one teenager died, has been halted.

On Friday, the Ministry of Defence said the case, involving three Gurkha soldiers who had been based in Colchester, will re-start next month.

But the reasons why it was stopped cannot be reported for legal reasons.

The case had been heard in the capital of Belize, Belmopan, by a panel of seven military officers for nearly two weeks before it was stopped.

An Army spokeswoman said: "Due to legal reasons a new Army board will sit on 8 December when the case will re-start."

David Zabaneh was the son of a prominent businessman in Belize

She said Judge Advocate Paul Camp had ruled that the reasons for stopping the trial could not be reported.

The MoD was unable to say how much the trial has cost so far.

But sources close to the case have said transporting and accommodating lawyers and court staff, and hiring a civic centre for the proceedings, have cost tens of thousands of pounds.

Charges denied

Riflemen Durgahang Limbu, 27, Yograj Rai, 23, and Ramesh Rai, 24, from 16 Air Assault Brigade, 2nd Battalion Parachute Regiment, are accused of violent disorder following the brawl in May 2001.

David Zabaneh, the 14-year-old son of a wealthy Belizean farmer and land owner, was allegedly caught up in the brawl at Raul's Rose Garden, a brothel and strip club eight miles north of Belize City.

He died from serious head injuries three days later in hospital in Florida, where he had been flown for emergency surgery.

The three soldiers, based at barracks in Colchester, Essex, deny the charges.

When the case re-starts it is expected to last about five weeks.