Posted on 03/22/2004 4:22:58 PM PST by Indy Pendance
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. military, after dropping criminal charges against a Muslim Army chaplain who tended to Guantanamo prisoners, pressed forward on Monday with possible disciplinary action on adultery and pornography accusations.
The Army is pursuing the charges, which at most could trigger mild disciplinary action against Capt. James Yee, because the nonjudicial hearing involved does not "require the introduction of evidence that would have compromised national security," said Lt. Col. Bill Costello, a spokesman for U.S. Southern Command.
Army Maj. Gen. Geoffrey Miller considered evidence on whether Yee had an extramarital sexual affair with a female officer and stored pornographic images on a government computer, said Costello.
The administrative hearing began on Monday night with Yee and his lawyers arriving at an office building near the Pentagon.
Eugene Fidell, Yee's lawyer, told reporters before the hearing began "our view continues to be that Chaplain Yee deserves an apology. It's a big country. And it's a big institution that can admit a mistake." Fidell said he hoped the Army would "give this matter the quiet, dignified burial that it deserves."
Miller commands the task force overseeing the prison at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where the United States holds roughly 610 foreign terrorism suspects. Yee worked with prisoners there for 10 months.
Yee was arrested last September in Florida as he returned from Guantanamo. Military authorities accused him in a court document of spying, mutiny, sedition, aiding the enemy and espionage, and told Yee's lawyers he could face the death penalty. Yee spent 76 days in a Navy brig but the Army failed to follow through with formal espionage-related charges.
The Army dropped all criminal charges against the 36-year-old West Point graduate on Friday. The Army dropped six counts, including mishandling of classified information and lesser adultery and pornography charges.
Miami-based Southern Command said the decision to drop the charges stemmed from "national security concerns that would arise from the release of the evidence" against Yee.
"General Miller alone will decide the facts of the case, and he can impose punishment at the conclusion of the proceedings," Costello said.
Such so-called Article 15 proceedings are reserved for minor offenses in the military and do not involve criminal charges.
If Miller finds that Yee committed these actions, Yee faces a possible written or oral reprimand, confinement to quarters for 30 days or restricted movement for 60 days, and forfeiture of half his pay for two months, Costello said.
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