The US military has charged eight Marine reservists, including two officers, with brutal treatment of Iraqi prisoners of war that may have resulted in the death of one Iraqi man, defense and justice officials said on Saturday.
The eight fought in Iraq as part of the First Marine Division during the campaign to topple the regime of Saddam Hussein and were detailed to guard a prisoner-of-war camp called Camp Whitehorse outside the southern city of Nasiriyah.
"These men have been charged in connection with maltreatment of Iraqi prisoners of war," said Marine spokesman Staff Sergeant Bill Lisbon, adding that the charges ranged from negligent homicide to assault and dereliction of duty.
The case marks the second time in about three months US troops have been accused of brutality and abuse of prisoners in Iraq. In late July, the army filed charges against four members of military police accused of hitting Iraqi prisoners and breaking their bones at Camp Bucca in southern Iraq.
All eight Marines have now been moved to Camp Pendleton, a base outside San Diego, California, where they are going through various pretrial hearings, Lisbon said.
The homicide and other charges were formally filed at Camp Pendleton on Thursday, but no date for a court martial has been set yet.
Military prosecutors allege that an Iraqi man named Nagem Sadoon Hatab died at Camp Whitehorse in early June following a possible beating by US guards. Details of the incident remain unclear.
The most serious and sweeping accusations are being leveled against Major Clark Paulus, who has been charged with negligent homicide, assault, cruelty and maltreatment, dereliction of duty and making false statements, according to Lisbon.
The other officer involved in the case, Major William Vickers, faces just one count of dereliction of duty, he said.
Negligent homicide charges have also been brought against Lance Corporal Christian Hernandez.
But attorney Donald Rehkopf, who will be defending Lance Corporal William Roy from assault and cruelty charges, said the circumstances surrounding Hatab's death remained murky at best.
"He was in a yard where they were many other prisoners," Rehkopf said in a telephone interview from his office in Rochester, New York. "So no one is quite sure what happened. They haven't released an autopsy for the cause of death."
Two other Iraqi prisoners from Camp Whitehorse insist they have been beaten by US Marines, although none of them has sustained any serious injuries, according to the attorney.
He said Roy had also been accused of failing to defend Iraqis facing assault.
"But they have overlooked the fact that he wasn't working on the day that this individual died," Rehkopf contended.
He said it could not be ruled out that the Marines had acted in self-defense because some of the prisoners, none of whom wore military uniforms, "were very violent individuals."
According to Rehkopf, the accused have not received proper training in handling prisoners of war and the rules of the Geneva Conventions prior to their assignment.
"My client was part of a combat unit. He was a machine gunner," he said. "One day they came and said we need a bunch of people to do something. And next thing he knew he was being a guard at a POW camp."
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