| Ander Nieuws week 24 / nieuwe oorlog 2006 |
Associated Press
June 07, 2006
U.S. military investigators are developing a theory that a small group of Marines planned and carried out the killing of an Iraqi civilian 1½ months ago, then put a shovel and an AK-47 assault rifle at the scene to divert suspicion.
U.S. military investigators believe the killing of an Iraqi civilian on April 26 was planned by a small group of Marines who shot the man and then planted a shovel and an AK-47 rifle at the scene, said Tuesday.
A senior Pentagon official with direct knowledge of the investigation by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service said Tuesday that evidence so far indicates Marines entered the town of Hamdaniya in search of an insurgent and, failing to find him, grabbed an unarmed man from his home and shot him.
The AK-47 and the shovel, which were taken from another home before the shooting, were meant to make it look like the man had been digging a hole for a roadside bomb and had been killed in an exchange of gunfire, the official said.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.
Seven Marines and a Navy medical corpsman are being investigated in the case, but no charges have been filed. All eight were removed from duty with the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment in Iraq and are being held at Camp Pendleton, a sprawling Marine base in southern California.
Jeremiah Sullivan III, an attorney for the unidentified Navy corpsman among the eight accused, told a news conference in San Diego on Tuesday that he could not comment on reports that the killing of the Iraqi was premeditated because he had seen no investigation findings nor heard any charges.
Sullivan said his client is being held in solitary confinement in the brig at Camp Pendleton and is allowed one brief exercise period per day. Even then, Sullivan said, the corpsman remains shackled at the hands, waist and ankles, and he is escorted when he walks in the prison yard by at least one military guard grasping his waist shackles. Sullivan characterized such treatment as "cruel and unusual," the type of punishment specifically forbidden by the U.S. constitution.
"The reason they are in such oppressive conditions is because of the sensational nature of this case, and that's wrong," Sullivan said.
Camp Pendleton spokesman Lt. Lawton King said that "given the preliminary findings" of the investigation, it was decided that the service members would be held in "the maximum level of restraint." They are escorted as a safety precaution, he said, adding that the prisoners are allowed to have visitors, reading materials, television, music and visits by a chaplain and are allowed to shop at the brig convenience store.
Spokesmen for the Marine Corps and the Defense Department have refused to comment on any aspect of the Iraqi man's death since the investigation was announced May 24. In that announcement the Marines said Maj. Gen. Richard C. Zilmer, commander of Marine forces in Iraq, had asked for a criminal investigation after a preliminary inquiry found sufficient information to warrant further investigation.
This case is unrelated to the killings of 24 civilians last Nov. 19 in the city of Haditha by Marines from another unit. The NCIS also is investigating that case, and a parallel probe is reviewing what Pentagon officials have said appeared to be efforts by the Marines at Haditha to cover up the true circumstances of those killings.
The Washington Post reported on Monday that the Iraqi victim at Hamdaniya was Hashim Ibrahim Awad al-Zobaie, a 52-year-old disabled man shot four times in the face. His family told the Post a small group of U.S. servicemen came to them last week and offered the family money in exchange for supporting the Marines' version of the killing.
Copyright 2006 Associated Press
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