8 US Troops Face Murder Charges

WASHINGTON - The Marine Corps on Wednesday planned to charge seven Marines and one sailor with murder in connection with the April death of an Iraqi civilian, a defense official said.

At Camp Pendleton, Calif., where the eight accused service members have been held in a military brig since late May, officials announced that a news conference would be held later Wednesday concerning the alleged killing of the Iraqi in the village of Hamdania. The announcement did not mention murder or other charges.

The official who disclosed the Marine plans asked not to be identified publicly because the announcement was still pending.

The allegation is that Marines pulled an unarmed Iraqi man from his home on April 26 and shot him to death without provocation. Seven Marines and one Navy corpsman from the Pendleton-based 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment were taken out of Iraq and put in the brig pending the filing of any charges against them.

The case is separate from the alleged killing by other Marines of 24 Iraqi civilians at Haditha last November. A pair of investigations related to that case are still under way and no criminal charges have been filed.

Once the murder charges are announced against the seven Marines and one Navy corpsman in the Hamdania case, the accused will be assigned military lawyers at no cost to the servicemen, although they have the choice of hiring their own civilian attorneys.

Also to follow will be decisions by Lt. Gen. John Sattler, the senior commander at Pendleton, on whether and how to proceed with preliminary hearings known in the military justice system as Article 32 proceedings. That in turn could lead to courts-martial for some or all eight.

On May 24, the Marines announced that Maj. Gen. Richard C. Zilmer, the commander of all Marine forces in Iraq, had asked for a criminal investigation after a preliminary probe found sufficient information to warrant further investigation.

Two cases criticized internationally
Together, the Hamdania and Haditha cases have generated international criticism of the U.S. and unfavorable publicity for the Marine Corps.

Gen. Michael Hagee, the Marine commandant, made a personal visit to Iraq to reinforce the importance of adhering to Marine ethical standards.

“As commandant I am gravely concerned about the serious allegations concerning actions of some Marines at Haditha and Hamdania,” Hagee told a Pentagon news conference June 7. “I can assure you that the Marine Corps takes them seriously.”

“As commandant I am the one accountable for organization, training and equipping of Marines,” he added. “I am responsible and I take these responsibilities quite seriously.”

© 2006 The Associated Press.