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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings, Torture and Big Money |
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July 24th,
2008 - Army not Releasing Details in Detainee Deaths Case |
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Army not
Releasing Details in Detainee Deaths Case By Matt Millham Stars and Stripes July 24, 2008 Documents providing
additional details of the charges against four Germany-based soldiers
implicated in the deaths of "several" detainees in Iraq in 2007
were not released as expected Wednesday, as military legal experts considered
what information could be released to the public. "We want to make sure
that the proper process in the entire proceedings is done just right,"
said Lt. Col. Eric Bloom, a spokesman for the 7th Army Joint Multinational
Training Command, which Tuesday announced the charges against the soldiers. "We don’t want to mess
up the case, is basically what it gets down to," Bloom said. Staff Sgt. Jess Cunningham,
Sgt. Charles Quigley, Spc. Stephen Ribordy, and Spc. Belmor Ramos were
charged Monday with conspiracy to commit premeditated murder under the
Uniform Code of Military Justice, according to a news release issued Tuesday
by 7th Army Joint Multinational Training Command. The soldiers, all members of
Company D, 1st Battalion, 2nd Infantry Regiment, 172nd Infantry Brigade, are
not in confinement, according to Lt. Col. David Crawford, the Army’s regional
defense counsel for Trial Defense Service, Europe. The charges against the men
stem from an incident that occurred in Baghdad in "April/May 2007"
while the soldiers were serving in the 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment,
part of the 1st Infantry Division’s 2nd Brigade Combat Team, according to the
Tuesday press release. The 2nd BCT reflagged in March as the 172nd Infantry. All the soldiers will be
assigned military defense counsel, and will have the option of hiring
civilian lawyers, Crawford said. Capt. Samuel Gregory, who
represents Quigley, would not comment about the case Wednesday. The names of
attorneys representing the other soldiers have not been released. External link: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=56324 |