Navy SEAL lieutenant faces hearing in prisoner abuse case

[seemslikeadream]

Posted on Fri, Jan. 07, 2005
SETH HETTENA

Associated Press

...

The unnamed SEAL lieutenant faces an Article 32 hearing, the military equivalent of a civilian grand jury, that will determine whether he will be court-martialed on charges including abuse, maltreatment and conduct unbecoming an officer. His hearing is set to continue Friday at Naval Base San Diego.

The lieutenant was part of a joint CIA-special forces mission to capture Manadel al-Jamadi, a suspect in the bombing of a Red Cross facility in Iraq. Al-Jamadi was picked up by SEALs and turned over to "other government agencies" - a euphemism for the CIA. He died a short time later in November 2003 during interrogation in the shower room of Abu Ghraib prison.

...

Military prosecutors displayed a photo of a detainee lying in the sand wearing an orange pumpkin mask. The accused SEAL lieutenant, who was directly responsible for prisoner welfare, posed kneeling next to the detainee, who appeared to be wet. When Navy criminal investigator Robert Braatz was asked why the detainee was wet, the courtroom was cleared because the answer was classified.

Meanwhile, a SEAL lieutenant commander who oversaw counterterrorist missions in Iraq had high praise for the accused SEAL lieutenant, noting he performed heroically in what became known as the "blood bath" mission. On that mission, SEALs set off an explosive charge and stormed a residence, badly injuring three armed men who were not their intended targets. The lieutenant commander said the accused SEAL lieutenant worked hard to save those men, two of whom were spewing blood from the neck. Two of the three survived.

Ten SEALs have been implicated during an investigation started by a sailor who was kicked out of the SEALs last year after he was found guilty of stealing another commando's body armor in Iraq. The sailor, who testified Wednesday, served under the SEAL lieutenant facing the hearing. The SEAL whistleblower has said his conscience prompted him to come forward.
more
http://www.sanluisobispo.com/mld/sanluisobispo/10583798.htm