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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings & Torture |
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April 15th,
2009 - US Army Soldier Convicted over 2007 Iraq Deaths 1st news article from
the Associated Press |
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US Army Soldier
Convicted over 2007 Iraq Deaths By George Frey Associated Press April 15, 2009 Vilseck, Germany - A U.S.
Army soldier was convicted Wednesday of murder in the execution-style
slayings of four bound and blindfolded Iraqi detainees. The prosecution said Master
Sgt. John Hatley acted as "judge, jury and executioner" to hatch
the plot and carry out the killings in spring 2007. Hatley and two others
took the detainees to a canal in Baghdad's West Rasheed neighborhood where
they shot them in the back of the head with 9mm pistols, the prosecution
said. An eight-strong military
jury found Hatley guilty of premeditated murder and conspiracy to commit
premeditated murder after a three days of proceedings. But the jury found him not
guilty of obstruction of justice in the incident and not guilty of
premeditated murder in a separate January 2007 death of an Iraqi insurgent. Hatley and his wife, who sat
directly behind him in the gallery, were unmoved as the jury foreman read out
the decision. They hugged and smiled after the court adjourned and his
friends and comrades in court wished him well. The 40-year-old career
soldier, who has served in the first Gulf War, Kosovo and in Iraq, will be
sentenced Thursday at the U.S. Army's Rose Barracks in southern Germany. He
faces the possibility of life in prison without parole. Hatley, who has been in the
Army for 20 years, had denied the charges. He could see any sentence reduced
through a future military clemency process. Military cases also go through an
automatic appeal process. Army prosecutor Capt.
Derrick Grace said Wednesday that testimony had pointed to "a complete
breakdown of discipline and crimes that are among the worst of a
soldier." "On two separate
occasions, the accused became the judge, jury and executioner," he said. Prosecutors said Hatley
oversaw the shootings of detainees and had told his comrades they were going
to "take care" of the Iraqis. Hatley's lawyer David Court
told the court-martial Wednesday there was no physical evidence that the
killings ever happened: no witnesses, family members, bullet casings, blood
or witnesses. According to testimony this
week and at previous courts-martial, the four Iraqis were taken into custody
in spring 2007 after an exchange of fire with Hatley's unit and the discovery
of weapons in a building where suspects had fled. Two soldiers in Hatley's
unit, Sgt. 1st Class Joseph Mayo and then-Sgt. Michael Leahy, have been
convicted of the killings at separate courts-martial earlier this year. Another two soldiers pleaded
guilty in the spring incident, one to conspiracy to commit premeditated
murder and one to accessory to murder, and were sentenced to prison last
year. Two others had charges of conspiracy to commit premeditated murder
dropped this year. All were with the 1st
Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade, 1st Infantry Division in
Baghdad. The unit is now part of the Germany-based 172nd Infantry Brigade. Copyright © 2009 The
Associated Press. External link: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hYtcV7GUHRC88uGXnQ8Hl6I5lvbAD97J4Q2G0 Iraq soldier says he gave
conflicting accounts By George Frey Associated Press April 15, 2009 Vilseck, Germany - A U.S.
Army reservist acknowledged Wednesday that he gave contradictory accounts to
investigators seeking information about the role a master sergeant charged
with murder played in the killing of an Iraqi insurgent. The admission came as David
Court, the lawyer for Master Sgt. John Hatley, sought to cast doubt on Army
prosecutors' claims the career soldier also masterminded a plan to kill four
bound and blindfolded Iraqis in spring 2007. Court asserts that there is no
physical evidence that the victims were shot and killed in Baghdad, because
the bodies have never been found. Hatley, 40, pleaded not
guilty Monday to premeditated murder, conspiracy to commit premeditated
murder and obstruction of justice in the spring 2007 incident. He also faces
murder charges from a separate January 2007 incident. The witness, Spc. Jason
Rupp, admitted he first told Army investigators he had no knowledge of the
January 2007 incident when Hatley allegedly shot a wounded Iraqi insurgent. "You made two
statements under oath that are significantly different. Isn't it true you
changed your story because CID told you you'd be charged with
conspiracy" to murder, Court asked Rupp, a reservist whose unit is based
in Franklin, Pennsylvania. CID is an acronym for the Army's Criminal
Investigation Command. "They told me that,
sir," Rupp said. "You didn't want the
Army coming at you in the murder of an Iraqi?" Court asked. "No, sir," replied
Rupp, who was not charged with any offense. Court has said Army
prosecutors are relying only on circumstantial evidence and conflicting
testimony from this week and other courts-martial that resulted in murder
convictions of two other soldiers. Army Judge Col. Jeffrey
Nance and a jury of a mix of eight officers and noncommissioned officers are
hearing the case at the U.S. Army's Rose Barracks. Closing arguments are
expected later Wednesday. So far, two others in
Hatley's unit - Sgt. 1st Class Joseph Mayo and then-Sgt. Michael Leahy - have
been convicted in the killings at separate courts-martial earlier this year.
Mayo pleaded guilty. According to testimony this
week and at previous courts-martial, the four Iraqis were taken into custody
in spring 2007 after an exchange of fire with Hatley's unit and finding weapons
in a building where suspects had fled. Army prosecutors have
alleged that Hatley, Mayo and Leahy took the four men to Baghdad's West
Rasheed neighborhood, shot them in the head and dumped their bodies into the
canal. Two more soldiers pleaded
guilty in the spring incident, one to conspiracy to commit premeditated
murder and one to accessory to murder, and were sentenced to prison last
year. Two others had charges of conspiracy to commit premeditated murder
dropped this year. All were with the 1st Battalion,
18th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade, 1st Infantry Division in Baghdad. The
unit is now part of the Germany-based 172nd Infantry Brigade. Copyright © 2009 The
Associated Press. External link: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hYtcV7GUHRC88uGXnQ8Hl6I5lvbAD97ISRJ82 |