Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
San Diego Union-Tribune
February 27, 2008
CAMP PENDLETON -- The trial for the central figure in the killings of 24 Iraqi civilians in late 2005 has been postponed until at least the second week of March. Court officials said more time is needed to translate the testimony of several witnesses from Arabic to English.
Originally, Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich's court-martial was scheduled to start March 3 at Camp Pendleton. He is charged with voluntary manslaughter and other counts. Prosecutors say he led a squad of Camp Pendleton Marines in killing the civilians.
The incident – which took place Nov. 19, 2005, in Haditha, Iraq – started after a roadside bomb hit Wuterich's convoy, killing a Marine and injuring two others.
Prosecutors have said the Marines went on a rampage, while defendants have said the civilian deaths were unavoidable during their combat with insurgents.
Recently, lawyers traveled to Iraq to take videotaped statements from people who claim to have witnessed the incident.
– R.R.
February 27, 2008
CAMP PENDLETON -- The trial for the central figure in the killings of 24 Iraqi civilians in late 2005 has been postponed until at least the second week of March. Court officials said more time is needed to translate the testimony of several witnesses from Arabic to English.
Originally, Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich's court-martial was scheduled to start March 3 at Camp Pendleton. He is charged with voluntary manslaughter and other counts. Prosecutors say he led a squad of Camp Pendleton Marines in killing the civilians.
The incident – which took place Nov. 19, 2005, in Haditha, Iraq – started after a roadside bomb hit Wuterich's convoy, killing a Marine and injuring two others.
Prosecutors have said the Marines went on a rampage, while defendants have said the civilian deaths were unavoidable during their combat with insurgents.
Recently, lawyers traveled to Iraq to take videotaped statements from people who claim to have witnessed the incident.
– R.R.