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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings, Torture and Big Money |
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September 12th,
2007 - Fallujah Killings Take Ex-Sergeant to Civilian Court |
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Fallujah Killings
Take Ex-Sergeant to Civilian Court By Thomas Watkins Associated Press September 12, 2007 Los Angeles - A former
Marine sergeant pleaded not guilty Wednesday in civilian court to
manslaughter in the deaths of two captured insurgents in Iraq. Jose Nazario Jr., 27, is
accused of killing the men during intense fighting at the start of the battle
of Fallujah in November 2004. One of Nazario's attorneys,
Kevin McDermott, said his client spoke only to enter a plea at his
arraignment in federal court in Riverside. A preliminary hearing date was set
for Sept. 24. Nazario, who until his
arrest last month was working as a police officer, faces two counts of
voluntary manslaughter. He is being prosecuted in federal court because he
has left the Marines and is out of reach of the military justice system. "I would just like to
say, I'm a United States Marine who fought honorably for this country and I'm
innocent of these charges," Nazario said after his first court
appearance last month. McDermott called the
civilian prosecution of a former serviceman for a suspected war crime
extremely unusual. Prosecutors were able to pursue the charges because of the
rare application of a law passed in 2000, written primarily to prosecute
civilian contractors who commit crimes while working for the U.S. overseas,
he said. "This could be the
first veteran, and a decorated one, who ends up being tried for allegations
arising from a combat zone," McDermott said. Members of Nazario's squad
shot at least four insurgents, prosecutors say. Several still-active Marines
are the focus of an investigation. In a related development
Wednesday, a Camp Pendleton general dismissed charges against a sergeant who
had been accused of murdering one of the captured insurgents. Lt. Gen. James Mattis tossed
the charge brought by prosecutors so he can review evidence against Sgt.
Jermaine Nelson, according to a Marine Corps statement. Nelson was accused of
murdering the insurgent in Fallujah on Nov. 9, 2004, but a general had not
been appointed to oversee the case. Marine spokesman Lt. Col. Sean Gibson said
Mattis could still decide that Nelson should be charged, or he may decide not
to pursue charges. The case came to light when
a former corporal from the squad, Ryan Weemer, applied for a job with the
Secret Service. Investigators claim Weemer described the killings during a
polygraph test that included a question about whether he had participated in a
wrongful death. Weemer has not been charged with any crime. A year after the suspected
shootings, a different squad from the same company was involved in the
killings of 24 civilians in Haditha, Iraq. Nelson, Nazario and Weemer are not
connected to that case. The complaint against
Nazario states the squad had been taking fire from a house in Fallujah. After
the troops entered the building and captured the insurgents, Nazario placed a
call on his radio. "Nazario said that he
was asked, 'Are they dead yet?'" the complaint states. When Nazario
responded that the captives were still alive, he was told by the Marine on
the radio to "make it happen," the complaint says. Another of Nazario's
attorneys, Doug Applegate, said the case against his client is weak. "No crime scene could
have been preserved; there's no physical evidence or DNA," Applegate
said. External link: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nation/5130803.html |