Saturday, March 29, 2008

US drops charges against 5th marine in Haditha case plea-bargain

From Deutsche Welle :

The United States Marine Corps has dropped all charges against a servicemen facing court-martial over the killing of two dozen unarmed Iraqis in 2005. In a statement, the Marines said that charges against Lance Corporal Stephen Tatum were dismissed in order to pursue the truth behind the so called Haditha incident. Marine prosecutors have been seeking testimony from Tatum against his then squad leader, Staff Sergeant Frank Wuterich. Wuterich is the most senior of eight Marines charged over the killing of 24 men, women and children at Haditha. Iraqi witnesses say angry Marines massacred unarmed civilians spontaneously after a popular marine was killed by a roadside bomb. Defence attorneys maintain that the civilians were killed during a battle with insurgents. Only three Marines continue to face charges in the case.

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