- Reaction score
- 0
- Points
- 360
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2006-01/22/content_4086322.htm
US army officer convicted for former Iraqi general's death
www.chinaview.cn 2006-01-22 00:17:41
WASHINGTON, Jan. 22 (Xinhuanet) -- A low-ranking U.S. army officer was found guilty of negligent homicide, but not guilty on the more serious charge of murder of an Iraqi general during an interrogation in 2003, local media reported on Sunday.After 6-1/2 hours of deliberation until late Saturday night, a military jury of six U.S. army officers convicted Chief Warrant Officer Lewis Welshofer Jr. in charges resulting from the suffocation death of former Iraqi Maj. Gen. Abed Hamed Mowhoush.Welshofer is the highest-ranking U.S. army officer charged with killing a detainee in Iraq.
According to court papers, Mowhoush, a formal aide to former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, was placed head-first in a sleeping bag as Welshofer covered his mouth and sat on his chest during a fatal interrogation in November 2003.
Prosecutors accused Welshofer of using harsh techniques to try to get information of Saddam from Mowhoush, describing them as "torture."
However, the military jury only convicted Welshofer of negligent homicide, a minor charge that carries a maximum penalty of three years in prison.
The jury also found Welshofer guilty of negligent dereliction of duty, a conviction that could bring another three months in prison. He also faces dishonorable discharge.
U.S. human rights groups said the trial was shocking, not only because of what Welshofer did, but also what the U.S. military authorized to treat the detainees.
The U.S. military has so far conducted some 400 investigations into the cases of prisoner abuses, but most of the U.S. military personnel found guilty or punished in those cases were soldiers.Welshofer is the highest-ranking U.S. army officer charged with killing a detainee in Iraq so far. Enditem
http://edition.cnn.com/2006/LAW/01/22/suffocation.case.ap/index.html
Army officer guilty in Iraqi general's death
Convicted of negligent homicide at detention camp
Sunday, January 22, 2006 Posted: 1350 GMT (2150 HKT)
Chief Warrant Officer Lewis Welshofer Jr. showed no reaction when verdict was read.RELATED
• Group: U.S. tortures on purpose
YOUR E-MAIL ALERTS
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
Iraq
or Create Your Own
Manage Alerts | What Is This? FORT CARSON, Colorado (AP) -- An Army officer was found guilty of negligent homicide late Saturday in the death of an Iraqi general at a detention camp, but was spared a conviction of murder that could have sent him to prison for life.
A panel of six Army officers also convicted Chief Warrant Officer Lewis Welshofer Jr., 43, of negligent dereliction of duty. He was acquitted of assault after six hours of deliberations.
Welshofer was accused of putting a sleeping bag over the head of Iraqi Maj. Gen. Abed Hamed Mowhoush, sitting on his chest and using his hand to cover the general's mouth while asking him questions in 2003.
Welshofer, who stood silently and showed no reaction when the verdict was announced, faces a dishonorable discharge and up to three years in prison for negligent homicide and three months for negligent dereliction of duty. Sentencing was scheduled for Monday.
If convicted of the original murder charge, he could have been sentenced to life in prison.
The defense had argued a heart condition caused Mowhoush's death, and that Welshofer's commanders had approved the interrogation technique.
"What he was doing he was doing in the open, and he was doing it because he believed the information in fact would save lives," attorney Frank Spinner said.
Spinner said he was disappointed with the verdict and would decide after sentencing whether to appeal.
"The verdict recognizes the context in which these events took place," he said. "It was a very difficult time in Iraq. There was confusion, and they were not getting clear guidance from headquarters."
Welshofer and prosecutors left without commenting.
During the trial, prosecutor Maj. Tiernan Dolan described a rogue interrogator who became frustrated with Mowhoush's refusal to answer questions and escalated his techniques from simple interviews to beatings to simulating drowning, and finally, to death.
"He treated that general worse than you would treat a dog and he did so knowing he was required to treat the general humanely," Dolan said.
Welshofer used his sleeping bag technique in the presence of lower ranking soldiers, but never in the presence of officers with the authority to stop him, Dolan said.
The treatment of the Iraqi general "could fairly be described as torture," Dolan said.
In an e-mail to a commander, Dolan said, Welshofer wrote that restrictions on interrogation techniques were impeding the Army's ability to gather intelligence. Welshofer wrote that authorized techniques came from Cold War-era doctrine that did not apply in Iraq, Dolan said.
"Our enemy understands force, not psychological mind games," Dolan quoted from Welshofer's message. Dolan said an officer responded by telling Welshofer to "take a deep breath and remember who we are."
The defense urged jurors to consider conditions in Iraq at the time of the interrogation: Soldiers were being killed in an increasingly lethal and increasingly bold insurgency. Welshofer had to make some decisions on his own because guidance was lacking and other techniques weren't working, Spinner said.
Officials believed Mowhoush had information that would "break the back of the whole insurgency," said defense attorney Capt. Ryan Rosauer. They also thought Mowhoush helping to bring foreign fighters into Iraq from across the Syrian border, he said.
Several prosecution witnesses, including one whose identity is classified and who testified in a closed session, had been granted immunity in exchange for their cooperation, Spinner noted. Two soldiers who were initially charged with murder in the case also were given immunity.
Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
US army officer convicted for former Iraqi general's death
www.chinaview.cn 2006-01-22 00:17:41
WASHINGTON, Jan. 22 (Xinhuanet) -- A low-ranking U.S. army officer was found guilty of negligent homicide, but not guilty on the more serious charge of murder of an Iraqi general during an interrogation in 2003, local media reported on Sunday.After 6-1/2 hours of deliberation until late Saturday night, a military jury of six U.S. army officers convicted Chief Warrant Officer Lewis Welshofer Jr. in charges resulting from the suffocation death of former Iraqi Maj. Gen. Abed Hamed Mowhoush.Welshofer is the highest-ranking U.S. army officer charged with killing a detainee in Iraq.
According to court papers, Mowhoush, a formal aide to former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, was placed head-first in a sleeping bag as Welshofer covered his mouth and sat on his chest during a fatal interrogation in November 2003.
Prosecutors accused Welshofer of using harsh techniques to try to get information of Saddam from Mowhoush, describing them as "torture."
However, the military jury only convicted Welshofer of negligent homicide, a minor charge that carries a maximum penalty of three years in prison.
The jury also found Welshofer guilty of negligent dereliction of duty, a conviction that could bring another three months in prison. He also faces dishonorable discharge.
U.S. human rights groups said the trial was shocking, not only because of what Welshofer did, but also what the U.S. military authorized to treat the detainees.
The U.S. military has so far conducted some 400 investigations into the cases of prisoner abuses, but most of the U.S. military personnel found guilty or punished in those cases were soldiers.Welshofer is the highest-ranking U.S. army officer charged with killing a detainee in Iraq so far. Enditem
http://edition.cnn.com/2006/LAW/01/22/suffocation.case.ap/index.html
Army officer guilty in Iraqi general's death
Convicted of negligent homicide at detention camp
Sunday, January 22, 2006 Posted: 1350 GMT (2150 HKT)
Chief Warrant Officer Lewis Welshofer Jr. showed no reaction when verdict was read.RELATED
• Group: U.S. tortures on purpose
YOUR E-MAIL ALERTS
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
Iraq
or Create Your Own
Manage Alerts | What Is This? FORT CARSON, Colorado (AP) -- An Army officer was found guilty of negligent homicide late Saturday in the death of an Iraqi general at a detention camp, but was spared a conviction of murder that could have sent him to prison for life.
A panel of six Army officers also convicted Chief Warrant Officer Lewis Welshofer Jr., 43, of negligent dereliction of duty. He was acquitted of assault after six hours of deliberations.
Welshofer was accused of putting a sleeping bag over the head of Iraqi Maj. Gen. Abed Hamed Mowhoush, sitting on his chest and using his hand to cover the general's mouth while asking him questions in 2003.
Welshofer, who stood silently and showed no reaction when the verdict was announced, faces a dishonorable discharge and up to three years in prison for negligent homicide and three months for negligent dereliction of duty. Sentencing was scheduled for Monday.
If convicted of the original murder charge, he could have been sentenced to life in prison.
The defense had argued a heart condition caused Mowhoush's death, and that Welshofer's commanders had approved the interrogation technique.
"What he was doing he was doing in the open, and he was doing it because he believed the information in fact would save lives," attorney Frank Spinner said.
Spinner said he was disappointed with the verdict and would decide after sentencing whether to appeal.
"The verdict recognizes the context in which these events took place," he said. "It was a very difficult time in Iraq. There was confusion, and they were not getting clear guidance from headquarters."
Welshofer and prosecutors left without commenting.
During the trial, prosecutor Maj. Tiernan Dolan described a rogue interrogator who became frustrated with Mowhoush's refusal to answer questions and escalated his techniques from simple interviews to beatings to simulating drowning, and finally, to death.
"He treated that general worse than you would treat a dog and he did so knowing he was required to treat the general humanely," Dolan said.
Welshofer used his sleeping bag technique in the presence of lower ranking soldiers, but never in the presence of officers with the authority to stop him, Dolan said.
The treatment of the Iraqi general "could fairly be described as torture," Dolan said.
In an e-mail to a commander, Dolan said, Welshofer wrote that restrictions on interrogation techniques were impeding the Army's ability to gather intelligence. Welshofer wrote that authorized techniques came from Cold War-era doctrine that did not apply in Iraq, Dolan said.
"Our enemy understands force, not psychological mind games," Dolan quoted from Welshofer's message. Dolan said an officer responded by telling Welshofer to "take a deep breath and remember who we are."
The defense urged jurors to consider conditions in Iraq at the time of the interrogation: Soldiers were being killed in an increasingly lethal and increasingly bold insurgency. Welshofer had to make some decisions on his own because guidance was lacking and other techniques weren't working, Spinner said.
Officials believed Mowhoush had information that would "break the back of the whole insurgency," said defense attorney Capt. Ryan Rosauer. They also thought Mowhoush helping to bring foreign fighters into Iraq from across the Syrian border, he said.
Several prosecution witnesses, including one whose identity is classified and who testified in a closed session, had been granted immunity in exchange for their cooperation, Spinner noted. Two soldiers who were initially charged with murder in the case also were given immunity.
Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
