GI says he was ordered to push Iraqis into river
FORT CARSON, Colo. – One of four soldiers charged with pushing two Iraqi civilians into the Tigris River, where one of them drowned, says he was ordered to do so and was told what to say to officials looking into the death, an Army investigator testified Wednesday.
Spc. Terry Bowman said he “was told by his chain of command what version to give” investigators, Sgt. Irene Cintron of the Army’s Criminal Investigation Command said during a teleconference from Iraq as the military convened a hearing to determine whether the soldiers will be court-martialed.
It was not disclosed who gave the order. Three of the soldiers’ commanders have received nonjudicial punishments for their roles in the incident. None of those punishments include jail time.
Defense attorneys said investigators relied only on relatives in concluding it was Zaidoun Fadel Hassoun, 19, who drowned. They said insurgents have frequently faked deaths to embarrass U.S. forces and get soldiers into trouble.
Cintron said investigators were told by Hassoun’s family and Iraqi civil defense forces that a body was found, but conceded security concerns prevented her from going to the scene to verify the claim. She said no autopsy was conducted and no body has been exhumed.
Sgt. 1st Class Tracy E. Perkins, 33, 1st Lt. Jack M. Saville, 24, and Sgt. Reggie Martinez, 24, are charged with involuntary manslaughter in the Jan. 3 drowning death of the man identified by family members as Hassoun.
Bowman, 21, is charged with assault for allegedly pushing the second man into the river at the same time. That man, a cousin of Hassoun named Marwan Fadel Hassoun, 23, survived and described the events to a reporter.
Marwan Hassoun said he tried to help his cousin swim to safety, only to lose his grip as the soldiers watched and laughed. “They were behaving like they were watching a comedy on stage,” he told the Associated Press several weeks ago.
Attorneys said troops in Iraq have not been able to locate Marwan Hassoun to get a sworn statement.