Officer accused of drowning Iraqi prisoner
A US army platoon leader accused of ordering soldiers to force two Iraqis into the Tigris River at gunpoint was to face a court-martial today.
Lieutenant Jack Saville is charged with manslaughter, assault, obstruction of justice, conspiracy and making a false statement.
The 25-year-old West Point graduate faces a maximum penalty of 29 years in military prison if convicted at Ford Hood, Texas.
He is accused of ordering troops to push two curfew violators into the river near Samarra last year, resulting in the drowning death of Zaidoun Hassoun, 19.
But defence lawyers contend Zaidoun is still alive, and in December a judge granted a defence request to have the body exhumed to determine identification and cause of death.
It was unclear if that exhumation has happened.
In January, Saville’s co-defendant, Sergeant Tracy Perkins, faced the same charges and was convicted of assault and obstruction of justice and assault consummated by battery.
He was jailed for six months.
