Courts-Martial News

Here is a round-up of the latest court-martial news of note:

Five Navy sailors will face summary and special courts-martial for alleged detainee abuse in Iraq, as reported here by Navy Times. Another sailor faces an Art. 32 hearing. The alleged abuse came after a "day of unrest at [Camp Bucca, Iraq]," said a Navy spokeswoman, CDR Jane Campbell. Navy Times described the alleged abuse, "Two detainees suffered abrasions as a result of . . . alleged assaults, and eight others were locked overnight in a detainee housing unit that was doused with pepper spray while its ventilation system was secured." Seven others, including a Navy LT were taken to mast. Navy Times mentioned what I thought was an interesting aspect of the cases, "The use of pepper spray in warfare is banned by international treaties on chemical weapons, but many governments say members of their armed forces are permitted to use it in war zones for law-enforcement duties."

For those already hesitant to make posts on this website, see this Stars and Stripes report on an Army investigation into blog posts about a court-martial.

Tuesday begins the trial of Sgt. Jose Nazario in US District Court. Nazario is one of three Marines accused of various crimes in the "deaths of four Iraqi prisoners during the battle in Fallujah on Nov. 9, 2004." Follow the story at the San Francisco Chronicle. Here is today's story from SFGate. See our prior posts on the story here and here.