The US military has charged eight US Marine reservists, including two officers, with brutal treatment of Iraqi prisoners of war that may have resulted in the death of one Iraqi man, defence and justice officials said today. The eight fought in Iraq as part of the First Marine Division during the campaign to topple the regime of Saddam Hussein and were detailed to guard a prisoner-of-war camp called Camp Whitehorse outside the southern city of Nasiriyah. "These men have been charged in connection with maltreatment of Iraqi prisoners of war," said Marine spokesman Staff Sergeant Bill Lisbon, adding that the charges ranged from negligent homicide to assault and dereliction of duty.
The case marks the second time in about three months US troops have been accused of brutality and abuse of prisoners in Iraq. In late July, the army filed charges against four members of military police accused of hitting Iraqi prisoners and breaking their bones at Camp Bucca in southern Iraq. All eight Marines have now been moved to Camp Pendleton, a base outside San Diego, California, where they are going through various pretrial hearings, Lisbon said. Military prosecutors allege that an Iraqi man named Nagem Sadoon Hatab died at Camp Whitehorse in early June following a possible beating by US guards. Details of the incident remain unclear. But attorney Donald Rehkopf, who will be defending Lance Corporal William Roy from assault and cruelty charges, said the circumstances surrounding Hatab’s death remained murky at best. "He was in a yard where they were many other prisoners," Rehkopf said. "So no-one is quite sure what happened. They haven’t released an autopsy for the cause of death." He said it could not be ruled out that the Marines had acted in self-defence because some of the prisoners, none of whom wore military uniforms, "were very violent individuals". |