Posted on 08/06/2006 7:58:08 AM PDT by Valin
IRAQI witnesses began testimony in a US military court in Baghdad today to decide whether to court-martial four US soldiers for the rape and murder of a 14-year-old Iraqi girl and the killing of her family in March.
The Mahmudiya case, the fifth involving serious crimes being investigated by the US military in Iraq, has outraged Iraqis and led Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to call for a review of foreign troops' immunity from Iraqi prosecution. The court began by taking testimony from Iraqi witnesses, a part of the process which is supposed to be held behind closed doors, and the media were asked to leave. In the trial of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, witnesses delivered testimony from behind a curtain to preserve their anonymity.
Military prosecutors are expected to lay out their case against Private First Class Jesse Spielman, Specialist James Barker, Sergeant Paul Cortez and Private First Class Bryan Howard, who face charges of rape and murder among others.
If court-martialled and found guilty they could face the death penalty.
Former private Steven Green, 21, faces the same charges in a US federal court in Kentucky, home of his former 502nd Infantry Regiment.
Mr Green, who has pleaded not guilty, was discharged from the army for a "personality disorder".
A fifth soldier, Sergeant Anthony Yribe, is charged with dereliction of duty and making a false statement and will also appear at the hearing at Camp Victory next to Baghdad airport.
The hearing is expected to last up to four days.
According to prosecutors, Mr Green shot dead 14-year-old Abeer Qasim Hamza al-Janabi's father, mother and six-year-old sister in Mahmudiya, near Baghdad.
Mr Green then raped the teenager and killed her, and tried to burn the bodies and house to conceal evidence of the crime.
Prosecutors say a second soldier also raped Abeer. The New York Times reported on Saturday that it now appeared at least three soldiers raped her, according to a legal memo filed by a military magistrate.
Mr Maliki has voiced frustration with a mounting number of cases against Americans, and the Mahmudiya case is particularly sensitive as rape is a taboo subject in Iraq.
The rape and murder case is the fifth in a series of high-profile investigations into killings of Iraqis by US soldiers.
The military is probing whether Marines unlawfully killed 24 people at Haditha last November.
This never happened; neither did Haditha or the others. They're set-ups.
Uh-oh...
I like the lack of bias in this article (barf bucket please). Notice to TOTAL LACK of commentary about the defense, from the defense, etc. Just more liberal, leftist reporting -- the anti-war cowards of the world just keep it up.
In Haditha I do believe it was a set-up, this one(?) I don't know.
"Notice to TOTAL LACK of commentary about the defense, from the defense, etc"
Has there been any defence? The report is on what has happened thus far. As this isn't a trial, just a hearing to decide whether the soldiers should face court-martial, I'm not even sure whether there will be any 'defence' statements, but I don't really know how the US military works these things.
"Just more liberal, leftist reporting"
Heh, pretty clueless about the source.
"This never happened; neither did Haditha or the others. They're set-ups."
Who do you believe set them up and why is the US army aiding them?
The service's efforts to foster good character among the ranks is not always successful.
If these guys are guilty, their fellow servicemen whose reputations have been tarnished by association should get to mete out the proper punishment.
Has there been any defence?
-----
By "defense" I am referring to any statements about the positions of those that are accused here. As a matter of fact, the military does provide counsel for the defense of people accused. Note that one of the soldiers is already facing CHARGES already. There is no mystery about where this process is -- and what the article is about. It is highly biased in its presentation of the issue, by being only one sided.
If the transcript of this dude Green's comments which I read recently are at all accurate, in all fairness and were I a recruiter, I'd have to say, NO WAY IN HELL DID HE BELONG IN THE US MILITARY AND OVERSEAS.
They were set-up by the enemy and are supported here by a wide variety of traitors, seditionists and liberal scumbags at many levels.
The coming weeks and months will be interesting, to say the least.
http://www.coxandforkum.com/archives/000857.html
and
http://hotair.com/archives/the-blog/2006/06/04/haditha-if-bush-isnt-responsible-then-the-terrorists-have-already-won/
Agree 100%.
Right. But as this was just the first day of proceedings and they are expected to last for several days, it's quite feasible that there has been no defence statements thus far and that what is being reported is everything that has happened.
Why. Baghdad Bob, got a new gig?
Neither of those links really support your contention that all these incidents are inventions.
Green has made NO comments re the case and the charges. None.
I read his interview, conducted with him in Iraq before these murders and rapes.
If he was not misquoted in that specific interview, then truly this man--who has since been kicked out--never ever did belong in our United States military, and I for one would never have wanted him in there to tarnish the good work of the 99.5% of the GOOD people in the US Armed Forces. We shall see what the trial brings.
You were shouting, it was hard to tell what you were saying. :-)
Yes, we await legal proceedings and outcome.
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