British hostages untrained in rules of incarceration

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The 15 British sailors and marines captured by Iran were not trained to withstand captivity in hostile hands, British defense officials said yesterday.

A navy spokesman at the British Defense Ministry said it is difficult to discuss the rules for the captives without helping the Iranians controlling the sailors and marines, who were seized March 23 by Revolutionary Guards forces.

A second British defense official said discussing such rules was a problem, since any official comments might endanger the captives.

"We wouldn't want to give away the game," this official said.

However, the navy spokesman said the sailors and marines were not engaged in combat operations and were conducting a search of a suspect vessel in a "friendly environment" when they were seized.

"We're not talking about people in a war environment," the official said. "Therefore, the level of training is different."

For example, special-operations commandos are trained in specific techniques for withstanding hostile interrogation and torture.

Some of the sailors and marines have made public "confessions" that British Prime Minister Tony Blair suggested were coerced, in violation of international conventions on handling prisoners of war.

The Third Geneva Convention states that captured military personnel are required only to provide their captors with name, rank, date of birth and service number.

"These are ordinary sailors that were doing a routine boarding operation who now find themselves in a very unusual situation," the British spokesman said. "They're living on their wits and common sense to survive."