Iraqi translator tells US soldier's hearing of gruesome murder
CAMP SPEICHER, Iraq (AFP) — An Iraqi translator told a US soldier's pre-trial hearing on Sunday about the gruesome murder of a detainee who was shot and later had his face disfigured by an incendiary grenade.
The hearing of Staff Sergeant Hal Warner entered its second day with testimony from the translator who testified about the brutal killing of Iraqi detainee Ali Mansur Mohammed in May.
Warner has been charged, along with First Lieutenant Michael Behenna, with premeditated murder, as well as assault, making a false official statement and obstruction of justice.
The hearing is being held at this military base near Tikrit, the hometown of executed dictator Saddam Hussein. Behenna's pre-trial hearing is scheduled for September 20.
The translator, whose name was not revealed for security reasons, told the hearing that Mohammed was first shot and later had his face disfigured by a thermite grenade.
The murder was allegedly committed on May 16 under a bridge in the northern oil refinery town of Baiji, after the two soldiers left their base with Mohammed to set him free at a checkpoint.
"Lieutenant Behenna started talking with Ali Mansur and Sergeant Warner followed them," the witness said.
"Behenna and Warner started taking off Ali Mansur's clothes with their knives. They then cut his handcuffs."
Behenna ordered the detainee to sit, the translator said.
"He (Behenna) asked him a question. You have to tell me what you know," the witness who had translated Behenna's question to the detainee told the hearing.
"Then Behenna pulled the trigger. Warner was further down from the scene. He (Behenna) shot him once, then twice and we could hear Ali Mansur's last voice," the witness said, testifying in English.
He said after the shooting, Warner "took the grenade from his pocket, pulled the safety ring, walked around and put the grenade under Ali Mansur's head."
"Then they hid his clothes and Behenna and Warner went back."
On Saturday, two US soldiers from the same battalion had also testified against Warner.
Corporal Cody Atkinson said that Behenna and Warner, armed with a grenade, took Mohammed out of the vehicle and under the bridge.
Mohammed was initially believed to have been freed along with another detainee at a checkpoint, but he was allegedly held longer in captivity and his naked and badly burnt body was found the next day under the bridge.
The charges state that Warner and Behenna shot Mohammed and set his body on fire by using a thermite grenade which burns fiercely.
"We all thought that we were going to jail for this. Sergeant Warner told us to write that Ali Mansur had been released," Atkinson told the hearing on Saturday.
When Atkinson was asked whether Warner told him Behenna killed Mohammed, he answered "Yes."
Another soldier, Sergeant Milton Sanchez, testified that Behenna told him Mohammed was a "bad guy."
"I know he (Behenna) was mad. He did not think that we should release him. He thought we were wrong to drop this detainee," Sanchez said.
While Warner sat silently throughout the entire session on Saturday, a few metres (yards) away Behenna, 25, took notes and later quietly slipped out of the room afterwards, an AFP correspondent reported.
The US military in Iraq has been rocked by a series of scandals.
The most serious charges of unlawful killings came when a group of marines was accused of murdering 24 Iraqi civilians in the town of Haditha in November 2005 after a roadside bomb killed a comrade.
Eight marines were charged the following year, but most were either acquitted or had the charges withdrawn before court martial.
This is the first I’ve heard, although I assumed it, that Mohammed was a dangerous insurgent. We know this unit had the highest number of soldiers killed during that deployment. The Lt decided the guy was so bad, so dangerous, that he wasn’t going to let him go.
I’d like to hear the soldiers testify if the Lt was right about Mohammed being that dangerous. I want to know how dangerous he was.
What would Dirty Harry do if a known serial murderer were being let loose on the streets?’
Would Dirty Harry be right?
Honestly, it depends on how bad the guy really was. There is a point at which evil becomes so evil that it must be stopped. Was this that point?
Why is another alleged murder investigation being held outside of our country. This just makes no sense to me. Xzins, I agree that orders should be followed, and murder is not acceptable. This was not active combat. However, we haven’t heard the full story of this case. I am quite curious why these two soldiers would kill a detainee in front of a Iraqi translator. Surely they aren’t THAT stupid.
Also, the article isn’t clear whether Atkinson and Sanchez (the two who are testifying against Behenna and Warner) actually heard the shots/explosion or just were told the detainee had been killed. Maybe they did in the trial, the article just doesn’t say so.
If the released detainee truly was a bad guy/insurgent and can be proven so, it will go a long way toward the punishment phase. If the truth is that they ignored orders to release him, I have a feeling they will be convicted of something.