Posted on 07/09/2006 11:58:43 AM PDT by SandRat
WASHINGTON, July 9, 2006 – Charges have been preferred against four U.S. soldiers accused of rape and murder in connection with the deaths of four Iraqi civilians in March. A fifth soldier has been accused of dereliction of duty for failing to report the offenses, U.S. officials announced today. The five soldiers were charged yesterday in connection with their alleged participation in the rape and murder of a young Iraqi woman and the murders of three members of her family. The fifth soldier was charged with dereliction of duty for his failure to report the rape and murder of these Iraqi civilians, but is not alleged to have been a direct participant in the rape and killings, officials said in a statement.
All are charged with conspiring with former Army Pfc. Steven D. Green to commit these crimes. Green, 21, a former 101st Airborne Division soldier, was arrested June 30 in connection with the incident, according to a July 3 announcement by the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Western District of Kentucky.
Green was deployed from September 2005 to April 2006 and was discharged from the Army May 16. Army officials declined to disclose the circumstances of his discharge, citing privacy protections under the Health Information Privacy Protection Act.
The preferral of court-marital charges is merely an accusation, according to today's statement. "Those accused are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt," officials stated.
The next step in the legal process will be an investigation pursuant to Article 32 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Article 32 investigations are similar to grand jury hearings in civilian courts.
(From a Multinational Corps Iraq news release.)
Thanks for pointing this OUT!!!!! for all to see when this thread is opened up....
I hope that you don't think that the monsters that tortured and killed Thomas Tucker and Kfistian Menchaca gives a hoot about a democratic court of justice.
Nope I don't, but the soldiers buddies might.
This is exactly what I was predicting when I posted the article from the L.A. times last week discussing a possible "link" between the muilations of the two soldiers and this rape case.
My sentiment was that if there was a link, then the savages that captured and butchered these two U.S. soldiers would have originally issued a statement saying that it was in fact revenge for the rape. The obvious reason being, how could these savages pass up an excellent "P.R." opportunity to somehow "justify" their brutality by saying that it was revenge for the rape. However, no such statements were made by the group that publicly claimed responsiblity for abducting the two.
And now, thanks to the Times article and the repeated MSM mentions of possible links, wadda ya know, the locals and insurgents have picked up on this, and are using it now as a reason to further engage in their mindless atrocities. Oh, so NOW they're saying the two were killed that way as revenge. Not to sound racist, but in many cases iraqi's are known to be quite unreliable witnesses and opportunistic liars.
Not to mention the anti war crazies are gonna also have a field day with this as if they haven't already.
Thanks L.A. times and MSM, y'all did the troops and the U.S. a great "favor." Sleep well at night
The allegation is that the murder victims included a 14-year-old girl (also the alleged rape victim), her six-year-old sister and both of her parents. Not quite the usual scenario for an honor killing.
These cases aren't going to stand on forensic evidence. It'll be based on the testimony of the participants (which is how it came to light in the first place).
Ten bucks most of these guys have already cut deals with the prosecutors.
The question is whether they would be subject to an Iraqi trial. I currently have a call into a friend who is both a JAG officer and a deputy prosecutor to get an answer.
bump
(Baghdad, Iraq-AP, July 10, 2006 12:21 PM) _ Two sergeants are among five American soldiers facing charges in the alleged rape-murder of an Iraqi teenager and the killing of three family members, the U.S. military said Monday.
The military announced Sunday that four soldiers were accused of rape and murder and a fifth with dereliction of duty for failing to prevent or stop it. No names were released.
On Monday, the military identified the others as Sgt. Paul E. Cortez, Sgt. Anthony W. Yribe, Spc. James P. Barker, Pfc. Jesse V. Spielman, and Pfc. Bryan L. Howard.
Yribe was charged for his failure to report the attack but is not alleged to have been a direct participant, the military said. The others face more serious charges as participants.
The five will face an Article 32 hearing, the military equivalent of a grand jury proceeding, to determine if they should stand trial.
They are charged with conspiring with former Pfc. Steven D. Green, who was arrested last month in North Carolina. Green has pleaded not guilty to one count of rape and four counts of murder and is being held without bond.
You may be right but we'll have to wait and see what happens at the ART 32 hearing.
Video shows mutilated US soldiers
From correspondents in Paris
July 11, 2006
This article from : Agence France-Presse
THE Iraqi branch of al-Qaeda has put on the Internet a video showing the mutilated bodies of two US soldiers kidnapped in June and executed to "avenge" an Iraqi woman raped near Mahmudiyah south of Baghdad.
"Here is a film on the remains of the bodies of the two American soldiers kidnapped near Yussufiyah (south of Baghdad). We are showing it to avenge our sister who was raped by a soldier belonging to the same division as these two soldiers," said a preamble by the Mujahedeen Al-Shura Council, an al-Qaeda dominated alliance of armed Sunni groups in Iraq.
When guerillas learned of the rape, "they repressed their sighs to avoid news of the affair spreading but they swore to avenge their sister", the council said on its usual website.
"Praise God, they captured two soldiers from the same division as this vile crusader. Here are the remains ... to rejoice the hearts of the faithful," the statement said.
The nearly five-minute film shows the horribly mutilated bodies of the two soldiers, who had had their throats cut.
The head of one of them was held high by an armed man, like a trophy. The head of the other was being stamped on by another armed man.
The film is accompanied by extracts of old speeches by the head of the al-Qaeda terror group, Osama bin Laden, and the ex-head of its Iraqi wing Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi, who was killed June 7 by the US Army.
The Iraqi branch of al-Qaeda said on June 20 that it had executed the two US soldiers whose bodies were found south of Baghdad.
http://www.couriermail.news.com.au/story/0,20797,19752490-5003402,00.html
Something about this whole case smells
The MO definately sounds more like Al Queda.
Defense wants to silence everyone, including the president
Tuesday, July 11, 2006; Posted: 2:16 p.m. EDT (18:16 GMT) "This case has received prominent and often sensational coverage in virtually all print, electronic and Internet news media in the world," said the motion filed Tuesday in federal court in Louisville, Kentucky.
Public defenders Scott Wendelsdorf and Patrick Bouldin filed the papers on behalf of former Pfc. Steven D. Green.
The court papers cited a Thursday interview of Bush on CNN's "Larry King Live," in which the president referred to the alleged incident as a "despicable crime" and offered an opinion that Green was "staining the image, the honorable image of the United States military."
In addition, the motion said Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was quoted in the Los Angeles Times as saying the alleged incident was "totally unacceptable."
"Clearly, the publicity and public passions surrounding this case present the 'clear and imminent danger to the fair administration of justice,' " the motion said.
It requested that the gag order cover Bush, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, as well as their employees. It also would apply to participants in the trial, attorneys, members of civilian or military law enforcement, and investigators...More
This should be interesting to see unfold.....
The preferral of court-marital charges is merely an accusation, according to today's statement. "Those accused are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt," officials stated.
More from the BBC
Sunday, July 9th, 2006BBC
Four US soldiers have been charged with rape and murder over an attack on an Iraqi woman who was killed along with her family last March.
The soldiers, on active duty in Iraq, are accused of conspiring with former soldier Steven Green to commit the crimes in Mahmudiya, south of Baghdad.
Mr Green, who is being held in the US, denies the rape and murder charges.
A fifth soldier serving in Iraq has been charged with dereliction of duty for failing to report the offences.
Investigation
The US military did not release the names of the soldiers charged in Iraq. They are all infantrymen from the 101st Airborne division, one of the elite US army units.
A statement said they would face an Article 32 investigation, similar to a grand jury hearing in civilian law.
Mr Green denied raping the Iraqi woman and murdering her and three members of her family when he appeared in court in Louisville, Kentucky on Friday.
He faces a possible death sentence if found guilty.
The woman he is alleged to have raped and killed was aged between 14 and 20, the US military says.
The case is one of five investigations in which US troops are accused of murdering Iraqi civilians.
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