SEALs will face trial in Iraq so detainee can be present

A judge ruled that trials will be moved to Iraq for Navy SEALs facing various charges about the treatment of an Iraqi detainee, Ahmed Hashim Abed. Abed is believed to be linked to the killings of 4 contractors whose bodies were desecrated and dragged through the streets of Fallujah.

On Monday in Norfolk, the judge set a trial date of April 5 for Navy Petty Officer 2nd class Jonathan Keefe. The trial will be held at Camp Victory.

The Virginian-Pilot, one of the only newspapers following this story consistently, said, “The military judge, Cmdr. Tierney Carlos, decided to move the trial to Iraq after military officials said they would make Abed available to give a deposition but not to testify. Carlos said Keefe has a right to face his accuser in court.”
Maj. Gen. Charles T. Cleveland who heads up Special Operations Command Central said the accusers were actually members of the U.S. military. But because the detainee is the alleged victim—in essence, the indirect accuser—the judge insisted he be present for the trials.

In a hearing for Petty Officer 1st Class Julio A. Huertas Jr., the judge made the same decision. Huertas’ trial is scheduled for the week after Keefe’s.

The paper said a hearing for Petty Officer 2nd Class Matthew McCabe who allegedly punched Abed will be held this week.

The military had planned for Abed to give his statement via videotape.

Betty Kilbride, author and staunch advocate for the SEALs at the Facebook group Support the Navy SEALs Who Captured Ahmed Hashim Abed, said, “[T]here is no jury in this case... Court-Martials are not convened with a jury of peers, it is comprised of the convening authority (a group of officers usually who are hand picked from the JAG pool by the very people who are bringing the charges – it’s not a fair court to the service member).”

Many in the group believe the SEALs are being railroaded in a political witch hunt as a result of trickle down policy from Washington. The Facebook group supporting the SEALs now has 101,422 members.

A defense fund has been set up for the SEALs at Maritime Tactical Security.

[Disclosure: The editor has advocated for dropping charges against the SEALs and she has also contributed to their defense fund.]

Plight of Navy SEALs 3 tangled in politics and non-disclosure

Rep. Dan Burton (R-Ind.) and 40 other Republican congressmen are calling for all charges to be dropped against 3 Navy SEALs in a matter involving an alleged terrorist detainee in Iraq.

Commentary by Kay B. Day

Rep. Dan Burton (standing) visited the Reserve Officers Association of Indianapolis in November. Burton has led the congressional charge in efforts to clear up the charges against 3 Navy SEALs. As far as The US Report can determine, no Democrats have advocated. Burton served in the U.S. Army and the U.S. Army Reserves.The US Report has tracked the plight of 3 Navy SEALs facing various charges involving the detention of alleged terrorist Ahmed Hashim Abed in Iraq. Early media reports suggested the detainee had either a bruised lip or had taken a blow to the stomach while in detention. One of the only official statements from military brass can be found in a letter from Maj. General Charles T. Cleveland to Rep. Dan Burton (R-Ind.):

“While the assault and resulting injury to the detainee were relatively minor, the more disconcerting allegations are those related to the Sailors’ attempts to cover-up the incident, particularly in what appears to be an effort to influence the testimony of a witness. All of these allegations were fully investigated by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS).”

But based on what we know, the letter actually does little to clear up the confusion.

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