§ Mr. Buckasked the Secretary of State for Defence whether the inquiries into the death of the Argentine prisoner of war at Grytviken, South Georgia, on 26 April have been completed; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. NottThe inquiries into the death of Suboficial Primero Felix Artuso on board the Argentine submarine "Sante Fe" on 26 April 1982 have been completed.
During the repossession of South Georgia by a British task group the "Sante Fe" was damaged but was able to reach Grytviken where it berthed at the British Antarctic survey jetty. There was, however, a risk that the submarine might sink and block the only usable jetty. The senior British naval officer therefore surveyed the boat and discussed a possible move across the bay with the captain of the submarine. It was decided that it could be moved under battery power and the Argentine captain selected six of his crew to man the boat. Royal Marine armed guards were provided for security reasons. Two of them were with Suboficial Artuso in the control room of the submarine when, in the course of the journey across Grytviken Bay, it developed a list. The Argentine captain obtained permission to correct the list by using low pressure air and instructed Suboficial Artuso to operate the necessary controls. Unfortunately, these controls had been misidentified and the guards believed that they operated the main vents which would scuttle the submarine. When Suboficial Artuso made a fast and unexpected leap to the controls it was thought that he was making an attempt to sink the submarine and one of the guards shot him.
The official inquiry, its findings and the supporting evidence, have been very carefully considered by the competent legal authorities and, in the light of their advice and the circumstances of the incident, it has been decided there are no grounds for any military disciplinary proceedings or proceedings in a civil court against any of the British Service personnel involved in the incident. In particular, it has been decided that the Royal Marine guard who shot Suboficial Artuso acted in self-defence and to protect the lives of those on board the submarine.
A report has been prepared in accordance with article 121 of the Geneva convention on the treatment of prisoners 700W of war. This report has been communicated to Brazil, as the protecting power, and a copy has also been passed to the International Committee of the Red Cross. The report includes statements from Argentine prisoners of war who were on board the submarine at the time of the incident. I have placed a copy of the report in the Library.