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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings, Torture and Big Money |
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May 23rd,
2008 - Marine Jailed for Refusing to Testify |
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Marine Jailed for Refusing
to Testify By Associated Press May 23, 2008 San Diego - A Marine charged
with killing an unarmed detainee in Fallujah, Iraq, has been jailed by a
federal judge for refusing to testify before a grand jury investigating a
former comrade. Sgt. Jermaine A. Nelson, 26,
was jailed May 21, but military prosecutors didn't find out until May 22,
when the New York man was to have been arraigned at Camp Pendleton on charges
of unpremeditated murder and dereliction of duty. When Nelson failed to appear
in court, his attorney told a military judge that a federal judge ordered
Nelson jailed for refusing to testify before a grand jury about Jose Nazario,
a former Marine charged in the killings of two captured insurgents. U.S. District Judge Percy
Anderson issued the order after Nelson told him he would not testify as a
prosecution witness against Nazario, said Nelson's attorney, Joseph Low. "Judge Anderson found
Mr. Nelson in contempt of court and ordered him jailed," said Thom
Mrozek, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office. Mrozek said that the court
filings in the case are sealed and that he could not comment on details. Nelson, Nazario and a third
former squad member, Ryan Weemer, are accused of shooting unarmed captives in
November 2004 during some of the heaviest fighting of the war. Nelson has
said he was following the orders of Nazario, his squad leader. Nazario, 27, of Riverside,
Calif., has been charged with one count of voluntary manslaughter in the
killing of two captives. Because he completed his military service, the
former sergeant faces charges in federal court. His trial is scheduled to
begin in July. Low said Nelson could be
held until he either agrees to testify, the case is adjudicated or he serves
the maximum 18 months, whichever comes first. "I advised my client
that if he chooses not to testify, he should be prepared to do 18 months in
federal prison. He said, 'I'm willing to do 18 months,'" Low said. The federal judge's contempt
order puts pressure on the military's case against Nelson. Military
prosecutors have 120 days to begin proceedings once a defendant is charged.
Low said the clock is running in the case of Nelson, who was charged in
December. Nelson faces life in prison
if convicted of murder. He is also accused of being
derelict in his duty for failing to follow the rules of engagement, how to
treat enemy prisoners of war and how to care for detainees in a combat zone. Prosecutors say that on Nov.
9, 2004, the Marines captured men they believed had been shooting at them and
killed them. The investigation began
after Weemer, 25, took a lie-detector test for a Secret Service job. He
described the killings when he was asked if he had participated in a wrongful
death. Weemer of Hindsboro, Ill., is charged with murder and dereliction of
duty. External link: http://www.military.com/news/article/marine-jailed-for-refusing-to-testify.html?col=1186032310810 |