prisoners taken by British forces were liable to be executed by the Iraqi authorities

prisoners taken by British forces were liable to be executed by the Iraqi authorities despite the government’s declaration that it opposed the decision by the interim government in Baghdad to restore the death penalty. Britain’s decision to continue handing over detained insurgents and others charged with capital crimes became clear after the Danish military suspended the routine handover of their own prisoners to UK forces for fear they could be executed.
The Danish Defence Ministry disclosed that its 500-strong forces in Basra and the nearby southern town of Qurnah, had stopped handing over its prisoners to UK forces, who maintain the dominant military role in the area. Denmark, which like the UK opposed the death penalty, wanted a firm pledge that such prisoners would not be executed.
But the British Ministry of Defence said: "There will be situations in which we have no choice but to hand over detainees."