Jo Sul
03-15-2005, 16:07
http://www.cnn.com/2005/LAW/03/15/soldiers.trial.ap/index.html
FORT HOOD, Texas (AP) -- A platoon leader who pleaded guilty to lesser charges after facing manslaughter for allegedly ordering two Iraqis forced into the Tigris River at gunpoint faces a new charge of assault.
Army 1st Lt. Jack Saville's military trial was scheduled to begin Tuesday at Fort Hood. The charge stems from a separate incident in which he is accused of ordering another Iraqi thrown into the river.
The 25-year-old West Point graduate pleaded guilty Monday to two counts of assault, obstruction of justice and dereliction of duty after being accused of ordering his troops to force two Iraqi cousins into the river in Samarra for violating curfew.
He faces up to nine years in a military prison for those charges.
Saville had been charged with manslaughter in the reported death of one of the cousins, Zaidoun Hassoun. But that charge -- along with counts of conspiracy and lying to investigators -- was dropped in a plea deal.
Under the terms of the deal, Saville agreed to testify against a higher-ranking officer who allegedly ordered Saville and other soldiers to execute certain Iraqi suspects if they caught them.
Saville could be sentenced to an additional three years if convicted on the additional assault charge, which stems from allegations he ordered an Iraqi man be thrown into the Tigris after the man was detained in an automotive shop.
FORT HOOD, Texas (AP) -- A platoon leader who pleaded guilty to lesser charges after facing manslaughter for allegedly ordering two Iraqis forced into the Tigris River at gunpoint faces a new charge of assault.
Army 1st Lt. Jack Saville's military trial was scheduled to begin Tuesday at Fort Hood. The charge stems from a separate incident in which he is accused of ordering another Iraqi thrown into the river.
The 25-year-old West Point graduate pleaded guilty Monday to two counts of assault, obstruction of justice and dereliction of duty after being accused of ordering his troops to force two Iraqi cousins into the river in Samarra for violating curfew.
He faces up to nine years in a military prison for those charges.
Saville had been charged with manslaughter in the reported death of one of the cousins, Zaidoun Hassoun. But that charge -- along with counts of conspiracy and lying to investigators -- was dropped in a plea deal.
Under the terms of the deal, Saville agreed to testify against a higher-ranking officer who allegedly ordered Saville and other soldiers to execute certain Iraqi suspects if they caught them.
Saville could be sentenced to an additional three years if convicted on the additional assault charge, which stems from allegations he ordered an Iraqi man be thrown into the Tigris after the man was detained in an automotive shop.