FreeRepublic , LLC
PO BOX 9771
FRESNO, CA 93794
STOP BY AND BUMP THE FUNDRAISER THREAD
Posted on 07/16/2003 10:47:30 AM PDT by New Horizon
FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. (AP) -- A soldier charged in the grenade attack that killed two officers from the 101st Airborne Division in Kuwait will face a court-martial, the military announced Wednesday.
Sgt. Hasan Akbar, 32, is charged with two counts of premeditated murder and three counts of attempted murder and could face the death penalty if convicted.
Maj. Gen. David Petraeus, commanding general of the 101st Airborne Division based at Fort Campbell, followed the recommendation made by an investigating officer on June 20 at the completion of an Article 32 hearing, which is akin to a civilian grand jury session.
In his statement, released by the Fort Campbell public affairs office, Petraeus said the case is being transferred to the 18th Airborne Corps at Fort Bragg, N.C., because the 101st continues be busy with operations in Iraq. The 101st reports to 18th Airborne Corps.
The soldiers killed March 23, in the early days of the war with Iraq, were Army Capt. Christopher Scott Seifert, 27, of Easton, Pa., and Air Force Maj. Gregory Stone, 40, of Boise, Idaho.
Advertisement
It is the first time since the Vietnam War that a U.S. Army soldier has been prosecuted for the murder or attempted murder of another soldier during a period of war, the Army said.
At the Article 32 hearing at Fort Knox, an investigating officer said a leg injury suffered by Akbar linked him to the attack scene, as did a fingerprint on a generator outside one of the three tents attacked.
Prosecuting attorney Capt. Harper Cook said Akbar stole seven grenades from a Humvee he was guarding, then walked to the brigade operations area an hour later to attack the officers.
"He selected the weapons, he pulled the pins, he threw the grenades and he shot Maj. (Kenneth) Romaine with his rifle," Cook said.
His attack plan "was well-thought out and executed with military precision," Cook said. Romaine was wounded in both hands and his left thigh.
But Akbar's attorney, Lt. Col. Victor Hansen, argued that no eyewitnesses placed the soldier at the scene, and that other soldiers were too quick to assume - as soon as it was reported that Akbar was missing - that he committed the crime because he is Muslim.
"The Muslim portion is important," Hansen said. He added, "that's the theory they ran with."
He pointed out that two soldiers testified they told investigators that Akbar was not the man they saw shoot Seifert. One witness said he saw a second shot fired that he thought came from a second shooter.
Hansen said the probe was tainted when Col. Ben Hodges, the brigade commander, told the arriving investigator that a soldier had confessed to the crime because the solider said American soldiers were going to rape and kill Muslims in Iraq.
Akbar's attorneys have refused to answer questions from reporters.
I'm surprised Akbar is still alive.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.