WASHINGTON - An Afghan detainee accused of hurling a grenade at US soldiers in Afghanistan has been referred to a special military tribunal for trial on charges of attempted murder, the Pentagon said on Thursday. Charges against Mohammed Jawad, which also include intentionally causing serious bodily harm, “were referred to a military commission,” it said in a statement.Jawad is only one of four detainees at the US detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba who have been charged with war crimes under a US law that created military commissions to try detainees caught in the US “war on terror” as illegal enemy fighters.
Jawad, who was believed to be a minor at the time of his capture, is alleged to have hurled a grenade into a vehicle carrying two US soldiers and their interpreter near Kabul on December 17, 2002. He must be formally arraigned within 30 days, and a commission must be formed to try him within 120 days.