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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings, Torture and Big Money |
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June 27th,
2008 - Two Marines in Jail, Others Upset |
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Two Marines in Jail, Others Upset By Tony Perry Los Angeles Times June 27, 2008 It would be an
understatement to say that there are Marines who are extremely upset that a
federal judge in Riverside has jailed two of their colleagues for refusing to
testify against a former Marine. U.S. District Court Judge
Stephen Larson has ordered Sgt. Ryan Weemer and Sgt. Jermaine Nelson jailed
for refusing to answer questions before a grand jury investigating the
actions of former Sgt. Jose Nazario. Nazario is charged with killing
insurgent-prisoners during the battle for Fallouja in late 2004. One thing that angers some
Marines is that Weemer is not being paid while he's in jail, and Nelson will
stop being paid once he runs out of leave. By law, the two could spend 18
months in jail, the duration of the grand jury. Nazario is being prosecuted
by the U.S. Attorney's Office under the Military Extraterritorial
Jurisdiction Act passed by Congress in 2000. The primary aim of the law is to
give federal prosecutors the power to charge U.S. contractors, military
dependents and federal government civilian employees for crimes allegedly
committed in foreign locations. The law also gives
prosecutors the ability to charge personnel who have left military service
and therefore are not subject to military law - in this case Nazario, who was
a probationary Riverside police officer when allegations surfaced about
Fallouja. The Nazario case, and the
jailing of Weemer and Nelson, appear to be the first instances of any U.S.
Attorney's Office using the 2000 law to charge a former soldier or Marine
with a crime for actions taken during combat. The law was used to charge a
former soldier with raping an Iraqi girl, but that action was in no way
linked to combat, Marines supporting Weemer and Nelson point out. Larson is apparently not unmindful
of the Marines' concerns. In declaring Nelson in contempt of court this week,
the jurist said that "there are few things that give me less
pleasure." "I have profound
respect for his service to our country," Larson said. "Everyone in
this courtroom is indebted to him." Still, the law is the law,
Larson said in approving the prosecutors' request to put Nelson in jail until
he decides to testify. External link: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/babylonbeyond/2008/06/post-3.html |