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The
War Profiteers - War Crimes, Kidnappings, Torture and Big Money |
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The Drowning of Zaidoun Hassoun |
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Background -
Samarra, January 3rd, 2004 “An Army platoon sergeant who ordered his soldiers
to throw Iraqis into the Tigris River was sentenced Saturday to six months in
military prison, but will not be discharged. Army Sgt. 1st Class Tracy
Perkins also was reduced by one rank to staff sergeant, which cuts his pay
and responsibilities. Perkins, 33, was convicted Friday of two counts of
aggravated assault, assault consummated by battery and obstruction of
justice. He was acquitted of involuntary manslaughter and making a false
statement. “He did not testify during his trial, but tearfully
apologized and told the jury of Army officers and enlisted members during his
trial’s penalty phase earlier Saturday that his actions were wrong - although
he did not apologize to the Iraqis. He said he still loved the military and
did not want to lose his job. ‘If I had to go back, I would definitely do
something different on those days,’ Perkins said, wiping away tears. The
six-man jury of Army officers and enlisted members considered a sentencing
range of no punishment to a dishonorable discharge, rank reduction and 11 1/2
years in prison. Prosecutors had recommended five years in prison and a
dishonorable or bad conduct discharge. […]” Excerpt of a CBS News article from January 5th,
2005. |
The Killers: Jack Saville & Tracy
Perkins |
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The Victim: Zaidoun Hassoun |
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October 23rd, 2005 - The Fall of the Warrior King 1 news
article by the New York Times March 16th, 2005 - 45 Days’ Jail for US Officer who
had Cousins Thrown into Tigris 1 news article by
the Guardian March 14th, 2005 - Platoon Leader Pleads Guilty to
Assault in Iraqi Case 1 news article by
the Associated Press January 5th, 2005 - 6 Months For GI In Iraqi
Drowning 1 news article by
CBS News December 14th, 2004 - Military Judge Allows
Exhumation in Army Drowning Trial 1 news article by
the Associated Press July 30th, 2004 - Cover-Up of Iraq Bridge
Incident Admitted 1 news
article by the Associated Press July 28th, 2004 - Soldier Says He was Ordered to
Push Iraqi Into River 1 news
article by the Associated Press July 2nd, 2004 - U.S. Soldiers Charged in Iraqi
Drowning Death 1 news
article by the Washington Post |
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Court-Martial of Tracy E. Perkins June 7th, 2005 - Court-Martial Record -
Tracy E. Perkins - Volume 1 Record
of the U.S. Army Judiciary (8,5 MB) June 7th, 2005 - Court-Martial Record -
Tracy E. Perkins - Volume 2 Record
of the U.S. Army Judiciary (2,9 MB) June 7th, 2005 - Court-Martial Record -
Tracy E. Perkins - Volume 3 Record
of the U.S. Army Judiciary (5,9 MB) “[…] Marwan Fadhil, civilian, was called as a
witness for the prosecution, was sworn, and testified, in substance, through
Marwan Abdel-Rahman, Interpreter, as follows: “Direct Examination/Questions by the trial counsel: “My name is Marwan Abdul-Hakin Fadhil and I live in
I am 25 years old. I'm a student. I have lived in from the time I was born. “On the 3rd of January I was in Baghdad and I was
bringing some material related to bathrooms for one of my relatives from -
After I was done shopping on behalf of this relative of mine I headed to
Samarra about 5 o'clock, around sundown. I had supplies for Western Style
Bathroom Sets, ceramic tiles, and showerheads. I was with Zaydun that day.
[…] “I arrived in Samarra at 10:45 because the car broke
down and I was able to fix it. When I arrived in Samarra I was stopped by the
ICDC Forces, they inquired about our ID cards, and then they allowed us to
enter. I was then stopped by the American troops between 200 and 300 meters
from my home. When the soldiers stopped us they asked for our identification
cards, then they searched the car very thoroughly, returned our I D cards,
and then they allowed us to leave. But then about 20 meters later they
stopped us one more time, ordered us to get out of the car, then they tied
our hands behind our backs with some type of a cotton thread or something,
and they made us get into the armored vehicle. When we got into the armored
vehicle we didn't know where we were going, they took us to an unknown place. “The vehicle came to a sudden stop, the door opened,
then I found that we were standing near the Samarra Dam, and then the ICDC
soldiers shed some light on us, and that's when the American troops ordered
us to get back into the armored vehicle. […] “Once I was at the edge of the pump house the
soldiers asked us to jump but we refused and we started to beg them not to
throw us into the water and we kept saying in English please, please, but it
was ignored. They first attempted to push Zaydun into the water so he clung
to one of the soldiers, at that point they raised their weapons and directed
them to his head and forced him into the water and I felt myself at that
point going into the water too. “I refused to go into the water because it was very
cold. I don't know why I had no choice about going into the water. The
soldiers asked us to jump into the water and they offered us no other choice
and they insisted on doing so. If there was another choice we would have
taken that other choice over the going into the water choice. “When I was standing on the edge I could see the
water because there was some lights on the dam and the bridge. I Zaydun went
into the water first. At that moment I lost every sense of time, but I went
into the water shortly after Zaydun. It could be a minute or less that I went
into the water, or a few seconds, I don't know, I was in a state of extreme
fear. […] “Against my body the water was very cold and the
weather was cold because we were in January. When I went into the water I was
wearing pants and a short sleeve shirt. I wasn't wearing a jacket because I
had been sitting in my car and the car was air-conditioned. I did have a
jacket but I did not need to wear it while in the car. Zaydun was wearing a
short sleeve shirt and pants. “When I was in the water I don't know how deep it
was but while I was there it felt like it was deeper than the ocean. […] The
water was over my head and I was far away from the shore. From here I landed
here […] “I would say that I am a mediocre swimmer, I don't
swim that well, but I can carry myself. Zaydun swam a little less than I did.
[…] They certainly didn't know if we could swim. I saw the soldiers and I
heard them when I was in the water, they had their rifles aimed towards us.
[…] I could hear the soldiers laughing. “I swam to the shore. Zaydun didn't make it to the
shore. I tried to rescue Zaydun but it didn't work. I was able to touch his
hands but he slipped out of my hand because of the strength of the water
current. After Zaydun slipped out of my grasp I heard Zaydun's voice and he
kind of floated and sank but it was mostly his voice that I heard. I don't
know what direction Zaydun's voice was coming from but it was going towards
the gate. I'm not sure how steep the slope was but I grasped a tree branch
and by doing so I was able to lift my body up over the shore. After I got to
the shoreline I went to the ICDC. The ICDC soldiers went with me to look for
Zaydun in that same place after I got out of the water that night. “As soon as I reached them we went back to look for
Zaydun. I went home the day after. I spent that night to the following
morning at the ICDC Headquarters. After I got home I returned with family
members to the same location of the incident trying to find him. Then I went
back home and I stayed there for a while because I was suffering from a lot
of psychological stress because of the incident. “My brothers, Zaydun's brothers, sons of my uncles
and aunts, our family in general, and friends went daily to look for Zaydun.
I was present when Zaydun was found 13 days later. When we found Zaydun he
was in the middle of the river and he was face down in the water. The
distance between the dam and where we found Zaydun was about a kilometer or
kilometer and a half south to the dam. “When we found Zaydun he was wearing his white,
short sleeve shirt and his jeans pants, and his vest was found four days
after the incident, which was the same clothes he was wearing the night we
were both pushed in. We could identify the body as Zaydun because his wallet
was there with his personal ID card and the ring that he wore. How could I
not recognize him considering that we have been together since we were
children. “After we found Zaydun's body we took him to the
family house and we completed the proceedings of his funeral. Before his
burial the lawyer ordered us to take photos of his body and we recorded the
burial and when the body was at the house by Zaydun's brothers. I was present
when they recorded it. We buried Zaydun the same day after the afternoon.
[…]” June 7th, 2005 - Court-Martial Record -
Tracy E. Perkins - Volume 4 Record
of the U.S. Army Judiciary (8,8 MB) June 7th, 2005 - Court-Martial Record -
Tracy E. Perkins - Volume 5 Record
of the U.S. Army Judiciary (9,0 MB) Court-Martial of Jack M. Saville March 7th, 2007 - Court-Martial Record - Jack
M. Saville - Volume 1 Record
of the U.S. Army Judiciary (8,3 MB) “[…] First Lieutentant Jack M. Saville, [redacted]
U.S. Army, Headquarters and Headquarters Company. 3rd Brigade, 4th
lnfantry Division (Mechanized), Fort Carson, CO 80913, was arraigned on the
following offenses at a General Court-Martial convened by the Commander, 4th
lnfantry Division (Mechanized). “Charge I. Article 81. Plea: Not Guilty. Finding:
Not Guilty. “Specification: Did, at or near Samarra. Iraq, on or
about 3 January, 2004, conspire with another, to commit an offense under the
Uniform Code of Military Justice, to wit: to assault two others, and in order
to effect the object of the conspiracy, he along with four others detained
the said two others and transported them to a bridge in the city of Samarra,
Iraq, where the he gave an order to push them into the Tigris River. Plea:
Not Guilty. Finding: Not Guilty. “Charge II. Article 107. Plea: Not Guilty. Finding:
Not Guilty. “Specification: Did, at or near Tikrit, Iraq, on or
about 16 January 2004, with the intent to deceive, make to a CID agent a
sworn official statement, to wit: that two others were stopped, searched and
released to walk to their vehicle and that he personally witnessed the two
individuals on the side of the road as his convoy departed the area, which
statement was totally false and was then known by him to be false. Plea: Not
Guilty. Finding: Not Guilty. “Charge III. Article 119. Plea: Not Guilty. Finding:
Not Guilty. “Specification: Did. at or near Samarra, Iraq, on or
about 3 January 2004. while perpetrating an offense directly affecting the
person of another, to wit: push him into the Tigris River at nighttime,
unlawfull kill the said other by drowning. Plea: Not Guilty. Finding: Not
Guilty. […] “Sentence - The sentence was adjudged on 15 March
2005. To forfeit $ 2000.00 pay per month for six (6) months, and to be
confined for 45 days. “Action - Only so much of the sentence as provides
for forfeiture of $ 1,000.00 pay per month for six (6) months and confinement
for forty-five (45) days is approved and will be executed. […]” March 7th, 2007 - Court-Martial Record -
Jack M. Saville - Volume 2 Record
of the U.S. Army Judiciary (8,1 MB) |
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The Killers 1) (left) Jack Saville at his
court-martial - March 2005 - Associated Press; 2)
(right) Tracy Perkins at his court martial at Fort Hood, Texas - January 2005
- Associated Press; The Victim 1)
& 2) Zaidoun Hassoun - undated - Family photo; |
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the Second Gulf War/Iraq Invasion II Back to U.S.
Department of Defense |
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