thedrifter
01-10-07, 08:19 AM
January 09, 2007
Officer accused of assaults in court Thursday
By Gidget Fuentes
Staff writer
OCEANSIDE, Calif. — Prosecutors this week are slated to detail criminal charges against an infantry platoon leader accused of assaulting three Iraqis last spring, Marine Corps officials announced Tuesday.
Second Lt. Nathan P. Phan will appear in a Camp Pendleton courtroom on Thursday, six months after the Corps charged him with assaulting the three civilians, alleging that he punched, choked and kicked two of them and stuck a pistol in another’s mouth, and then lied about it.
The Article 32 hearing will be held before Lt. Col. William Piggott and is expected to last at least two days.
The charges against Phan, a leader 2nd Platoon, Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines, stem from allegations that he assaulted the men on April 10 near Hamdaniya.
Prosecutors, according to the charges, contend that Phan:
• Repeatedly punched and kneed Khalid Hamad Daham in the face, head and torso “with a force likely to produce death or grievous bodily harm.”
• Hit and choked Hassam Hamza Fayall “with a force likely to produce death or grievous bodily harm.”
• Punched and choked Ali Haraj Rbash “with a force likely to produce death or grievous bodily harm,” and put an unloaded M9 service pistol into the man’s mouth.
• Made false official statements.
Phan, through his defense attorney, denied the allegations.
He enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1998 and was on his first combat tour in Iraq. He was among 12 members of 3/5’s Kilo Company who were initially detained May 11 in Iraq as officials investigated the April 26 shooting death of another Iraqi man near the village in a case that has garnered international headlines. He has not been confined since his return to the base in late May.
Four other members of the company are awaiting general courts-martial in the fatal shooting, and four others received lesser punishment in exchange for testifying against their squad mates.
Ellie
Officer accused of assaults in court Thursday
By Gidget Fuentes
Staff writer
OCEANSIDE, Calif. — Prosecutors this week are slated to detail criminal charges against an infantry platoon leader accused of assaulting three Iraqis last spring, Marine Corps officials announced Tuesday.
Second Lt. Nathan P. Phan will appear in a Camp Pendleton courtroom on Thursday, six months after the Corps charged him with assaulting the three civilians, alleging that he punched, choked and kicked two of them and stuck a pistol in another’s mouth, and then lied about it.
The Article 32 hearing will be held before Lt. Col. William Piggott and is expected to last at least two days.
The charges against Phan, a leader 2nd Platoon, Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines, stem from allegations that he assaulted the men on April 10 near Hamdaniya.
Prosecutors, according to the charges, contend that Phan:
• Repeatedly punched and kneed Khalid Hamad Daham in the face, head and torso “with a force likely to produce death or grievous bodily harm.”
• Hit and choked Hassam Hamza Fayall “with a force likely to produce death or grievous bodily harm.”
• Punched and choked Ali Haraj Rbash “with a force likely to produce death or grievous bodily harm,” and put an unloaded M9 service pistol into the man’s mouth.
• Made false official statements.
Phan, through his defense attorney, denied the allegations.
He enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1998 and was on his first combat tour in Iraq. He was among 12 members of 3/5’s Kilo Company who were initially detained May 11 in Iraq as officials investigated the April 26 shooting death of another Iraqi man near the village in a case that has garnered international headlines. He has not been confined since his return to the base in late May.
Four other members of the company are awaiting general courts-martial in the fatal shooting, and four others received lesser punishment in exchange for testifying against their squad mates.
Ellie