A Marine Corps general on Friday ordered criminal charges to proceed to separate courts-martial for a former battalion commander and an enlisted man involved in a battle in Haditha in 2005 in which 24 Iraqis died.
Lieutenant Colonel Jeffrey Chessani, the former battalion commander, is accused of failing to accurately report and investigate the killing of the 24 Iraqis by a group of Marines under his command on Nov. 19, 2005. He will stand trial on charges that include dereliction of duty, the Marine Corps said.
The enlisted Marine, Lance Corporal Stephen Tatum, who had been charged with murder and negligent homicide in the deaths of six civilians in a home after a roadside bomb killed a Marine and wounded two others, will be tried on lesser charges: involuntary manslaughter, reckless endangerment and aggravated assault.
Both men will be tried at Camp Pendleton, California. No trial date has been set in either case.
The decision to forward the charges against the two Marines to courts-martial was made by Lieutenant General James Mattis, the commander of Marine Corps Forces Central Command. Mattis followed the recommendation of the Marine officer who had presided over the evidentiary hearing for Chessani, but went against the advice of the investigator who had examined the evidence in Tatum's case and later recommended dismissing all charges.
Kyle Sampson, a lawyer for Tatum, said: "Referring this case to trial imperils every young Marine and soldier who faces a split-second decision in combat."
In related news, a soldier who came forward with allegations that his comrades raped an Iraqi teenager is being investigated for his role in a fatal shooting at a checkpoint, his lawyer said.
Specialist Justin Watt has been barred from leaving the Army on a medical discharge until the shooting investigation concludes, his attorney, Kenneth David, said om Friday.
In letters between David and the Army's Criminal Investigations Division, the military has alleged "credible information" exists to believe Watt obstructed justice by trying to cover up a shooting in December 2005 that has been under investigation for more than a year.
David said the allegations could be retribution for Watt's role in helping military prosecutors identify five soldiers charged last year with raping and killing an Iraqi teen and killing her family.
"Justin Watt has been the Army's shining star in terms of honesty and integrity. He put himself at risk to get this information out," David said.
Watt, who served with the 101st Airborne Division, was the first to approach commanders with suspicions fellow soldiers had committed a crime after overhearing discussion of the March 12 attack last year.
The investigation of Watt involves a shooting at a checkpoint near Mahmoudiya. A soldier, unidentified in the documents, fired at a truck rushing the checkpoint, killing a woman inside, the letters said.
Investigators said sworn statements from other soldiers last month questioned the legitimacy of the shot, and said Watt and other members of his unit covered it up, according to the letters.
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