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| Afghanistan |
| US soldier convicted of punching Afghan detainee |
| 2006-01-28 |
| KABUL - A court-martial has found a US soldier guilty of maltreating a detainee in Afghanistan by punching him several times, and sentenced him to four months’ detention, the US military said on Saturday. The court-martial on Friday at the main US base at Bagram, north of Kabul, found James R. Hayes guilty of “one count of conspiracy to maltreat and two counts of maltreatment,” it said in a statement. Hayes and another soldier, who is due to face a court-martial on Monday, had been accused of punching detainees in the chest, arms and shoulders at a base in southern Uruzgan province in July. A third soldier has already been punished for knowing about the incident and not immediately reporting it to authorities. “He was sentenced to reduction in rank to private, total forfeiture of all pay and allowances for four months and confinement for four months,” the statement said. “He is held in custody at Bagram Airfield pending transfer to Kuwait for detention.” “The command takes this matter very seriously,” said Marine Lieutenant Colonel Bob Fifer, chief of criminal justice for the force. |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #1 Details? |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2006-01-28 14:21 |