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Court Martial Lawyer – GCM begins for sailor charged with rape

By Andrew Tilghman – Staff writer

A sailor accused of raping and sodomizing a woman in Florida is facing a general court martial this week that could land him behind bars for life.

Gunner’s Mate 1st Class (SW/AW) Carlton Thomas Jr., 33, is assigned to the destroyer Farragut. His court-martial on charges of rape, sodomy and indecent assault started Monday at Naval Station Mayport, said Bill Austin, a base spokesman. The court-martial is expected to last about one week.

Thomas allegedly raped a civilian woman Sept. 4, 2007, in a hotel in Jacksonville, Austin said.

The woman initially reported the sexual assault to civilian officials in Jacksonville, and the case was later transferred to the Navy court system, Austin said.

Thomas, from Lumpkin, Ga., enlisted in 1998 and was last promoted in June 2007, Navy records show. He previously served on the carrier John F. Kennedy and at the Trident Refit Facility in Kings Bay, Ga.

Michael Waddington is a court martial lawyer – court martial attorney that defends military personnel worldwide as well as deployed civilian contractors subject to the UCMJ. He defends Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine, Coast Guard, and civilian contractor court martial cases. He has successfully defended military personnel as a court martial lawyer Army Navy Marine & Air Force court martials in Germany, England, Italy, Iraq, Kuwait, Korea, Okinawa, Japan, Yokota, and throughout the United States. military-defense-lawyer-recentcases.htm.

Court Martial Attorney - Marine’s court-martial begins in Iraq killing case

By THOMAS WATKINS

CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. (AP) — A court martial began Tuesday for a Marine accused of killing an unarmed captive in Iraq in a case officials knew nothing about until the defendant took a polygraph test as he applied for a job in the Secret Service.

An attorney for Sgt. Ryan Weemer told the jury that prosecutors cannot prove their case because they have no body, no forensic evidence and no relatives complaining of a lost loved one. But prosecutors have at least one recording of the 26-year-old saying he shot a man.

Weemer, of Hindsboro, Ill., is accused of unpremeditated murder and dereliction of duty stemming from a November 2004 firefight in Fallujah.

In 2006, after he left the Marine Corps, he applied for a job in the Secret Service. During a polygraph test as part of the application, he was asked about the most serious crime he ever committed.

“We went into this house, there happened to be four or five guys in the house,” Weemer said in a recording of the interview played during the prosecution’s opening statement. “We ended up shooting them, we had to.”

The U.S. military had ordered all civilians out of Fallujah ahead of an assault aimed at recapturing the city from insurgents. “Operation Phantom Fury” involved vicious house-to-house fighting.

Weemer said in the interview that the unarmed Iraqis were slain because the Marines didn’t have time to take the men to jail.

“We called up to the platoon leader and the response was, ‘Are they dead yet?’” Weemer said in the recording.

The account triggered a criminal investigation and led to Weemer being recalled to active duty to face military prosecution.

Weemer’s attorney, Paul Hackett, said the government must first prove a killing even occurred. He said any shootings were ordered by Weemer’s squad leader, who had lost control of the situation during his first firefight.

Weemer is accused of killing one man. Prosecutors allege a total of four Iraqis were killed after being captured in a house where weapons were found.

The court-martial will include testimony for the defense by a lieutenant colonel who helped write the rules of engagement for the battle.

Other witnesses, to be called by the government, will include former squad members who were not charged in the case, Hackett said.

Weemer’s squad leader, Jose Nazario, was beyond the reach of a Marine recall after the investigation because he had completed his military obligations.

He was tried in U.S. District Court and found not guilty of voluntary manslaughter, assault with a deadly weapon and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence.

Marine Sgt. Jermaine Nelson also pleaded not guilty to unpremeditated murder and dereliction of duty. His court-martial was indefinitely postponed after his attorney filed a flurry of last-minute motions.

Michael Waddington is a court martial lawyer – court martial attorney that defends military personnel worldwide as well as deployed civilian contractors subject to the UCMJ. He defends Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine, Coast Guard, and civilian contractor court martial cases. He has successfully defended military personnel as a court martial lawyer Army Navy Marine & Air Force court martials in Germany, England, Italy, Iraq, Kuwait, Korea, Okinawa, Japan, Yokota, and throughout the United States. military-defense-lawyer-recentcases.htm.

Court Martial Attorney - US sergeant jailed for murdering prisoners in Iraq

VILSECK, Germany (AFP) — A US sergeant on Monday became on Monday the second non-commissioned officer to be convicted of murder for the summary executions of four bound and blindfolded prisoners in Iraq in 2007.

Sergeant First Class Joseph P. Mayo was sentenced by a court martial in southern Germany to life in prison, but because he pleaded guilty, will serve no more than 35 years in prison and will be eligible for parole in 10 years.

Mayo told a court martial that he and two other sergeants shot the prisoners in the back of the head with nine-millimetre pistols and dumped their bodies in a Baghdad canal.

“I thought it was in the best interests of my soldiers,” Mayo, 27, told the court in the town of Vilseck after pleading guilty to murder and conspiracy to commit murder.

Mayo was able to escape a life sentence after a pre-trial agreement with the commander of his unit, an army spokesman said.
“I really believed I was protecting my soldiers,” Mayo repeated in a closing statement that brought him and family members including his mother, wife and 10-year-old daughter to tears.

“I take full responsibility for my actions,” he said. “Now I have to pay for my mistake.”

Mayo said the men, “of apparent Middle Eastern descent,” according to the charge sheet, had been arrested after repeated attacks on their unit, including a sniper attack that killed a friend and fellow sergeant.

The defendant himself had been almost killed by an explosive device a few months earlier, and suffered a diagnosed mild traumatic brain injury, his lawyer Michael Waddington said.

While making their arrests, the US troops found two sniper rifles, AK-47 assault rifles and a duffel bag full of ammunition. But there was insufficient evidence to hold the men, Waddington told the court, and Mayo said: “I believed they would be released.”
Mayo is one seven soldiers implicated in the case and one of three non-commissioned officers to be tried for murder.

First Sergeant John E. Hatley, the most senior soldier present, is to stand trial charged with murder in Germany on April 13, an army statement said last week. A spokesman said Monday that Mayo would testify in that trial.
In February, co-defendant Sergeant Michael P. Leahy, an army medic, was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole.

Two other soldiers have pleaded guilty to lesser charges and been sentenced to prison terms of less than a year, an army spokeswoman said.

Charges were dismissed against two others, including Staff Sergeant Jess Cunningham, who first revealed the incident to a defence lawyer in January 2008.

Waddington told reporters after Mayo’s trial had adjourned: “Our objective is to get him out of prison as quickly as possible.”
All the soldiers were with the 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment, then part of the 2nd Brigade of the 1st Infantry Division in Iraq, and now in the 172nd Infantry Brigade based in Germany.

A character witness in the trial, First Lieutenant Benjamin Boyd, said the troops had been at a combat outpost dubbed “Angry Dragon” in southwest Baghdad that was on a “significant fault line” between Sunni and Shia areas of the city.

“I hold fewer people in higher regard,” Boyd said of the defendant. “I couldn’t have asked for a better platoon sergeant.”
Another witness, Captain David Nelson-Fischer said the unit suffered from “frustration and fear” because of a high frequency of attacks on Mayo’s small, highly exposed post in West Rashid, one of the most dangerous Baghdad neighbourhoods at that time.

The US troops were “not adequately trained”, and angry that prisoners were often released after two or three days in custody, only to carry out further attacks and armed with fresh intelligence on US operating methods.

But the army’s trial counsel, Captain John Riesenberg, said Mayo had “demonstrated a total lack of moral courage,” in shooting a prisoner “execution style.”

He had urged the court martial judge, Colonel Jeffrey Nance, to deliver a sentence that would “send a message to the army and to the world.”

The US army, Riesenberg said, “is an army that punishes its own.”

Michael Waddington is a court martial lawyer – court martial attorney that defends military personnel worldwide as well as deployed civilian contractors subject to the UCMJ. He defends Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine, Coast Guard, and civilian contractor court martial cases. He has successfully defended military personnel as a court martial lawyer Army Navy Marine & Air Force court martials in Germany, England, Italy, Iraq, Kuwait, Korea, Okinawa, Japan, Yokota, and throughout the United States. military-defense-lawyer-recentcases.htm.

Court Martial Attorney – Officer with TB who refused to deploy is convicted

Stars and Stripes

An Army chief warrant officer, who argued his health problems should have prevented him from going to war, has been convicted of failing to deploy to Iraq and disobeying an order, according to a USA Today report.

Adisa “A.J.” Aiyetoro — a 19-year veteran who has active tuberculosis and suffers from back injuries — was sentenced to six months in jail and ordered to forfeit $1,300 a month for the next six months after his conviction at a court martial this week in Fort Richardson, Alaska, USA Today reported Thursday.

Aiyetoro, an armament maintenance technician, began developing chronic, debilitating back pain after a previous deployment, according to an earlier USA Today report.

An Army surgeon classified him as non-deployable on Aug. 25, 2007, saying Aiyetoro was unable to wear his body armor. But a revised evaluation a few days later found that he could wear body armor but “only during mission-essential movements,” USA Today reported.

Since then, doctors have changed Aiyetoro’s medical status, again. In February, doctors concluded that Aiyetoro needed more tests on his back and he needs additional tests to determine whether his tuberculosis is active, according to court records.

Aiyetoro told USA Today that commanders cared more about filling their ranks than about him getting better when they ordered him to deploy in September.

The command offered to allow him to resign, but Aiyetoro chose a court-martial instead, according to the USA Today report.

Michael Waddington is a court martial lawyer – court martial attorney that defends military personnel worldwide as well as deployed civilian contractors subject to the UCMJ. He defends Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine, Coast Guard, and civilian contractor court martial cases. He has successfully defended military personnel as a court martial lawyer Army Navy Marine & Air Force court martials in Germany, England, Italy, Iraq, Kuwait, Korea, Okinawa, Japan, Yokota, and throughout the United States. military-defense-lawyer-recentcases.htm.

Court Martial Lawyer – Bangladesh: Ruling party’s fear in allowing Court Martial to BDR Massacre case

By Sunita Paul

Pro-Awami League lawyer Advocate Anisul Huq (who is also the chief counsel in Bangabandhu murder case), told vernacular daily Amader Shomoy that, trial into the massacre, murder, rape and lootings inside the Bangladesh Riffles (BDR) headquarters cannot be held under Court Martial.

He said, under Military Act or BDR Act, there is no room for holding trial of the massacre, while under the International Criminal Tribunal Act of 1973, the trial into this particular case is not possible.

The detailed interview of this pro-ruling party lawyer was prominent carried as the lead news in the vernacular daily just before few days of releasing the investigation report. It is well apprehended that a large number of politicians belonging to the ruling party are going to be named as accused and co-accused in this notorious massacre. Anticipating this, possibly some influential leaders in the ruling party have become active in mobilizing various forces in at least saving their fate from facing Court Martial.

Meanwhile, once again, the question Human Rights Watch (HRW) has issued a statement expressing its concern for the BDR soldiers, who are under scrutiny for obvious reason inside the headquarters by various intelligence agencies. Till date, a few hundred BDR men are already identified to be directly or indirectly involved behind this heinous crime or murder, rape, brutality etc. I wrote another piece few days back on the activities of HRW titled ‘Leaving crocodile tears for the killers in Bangladesh’.

HRW in its latest statement said, “The government of Bangladesh should take urgent steps to ensure that those detained in connection with the massacre of 74 people at the Dhaka headquarters of the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR), the country’s paramilitary border guards, on February 25, 2009, are not subjected to retribution, including extrajudicial killings, torture, and other mistreatment.”

It said, “An apparent mutiny by members of the border guards against their army officers left 55 senior army officers and 19 others dead, including the director general of the border guards and his wife. The government, police, and army have begun parallel investigations into the incident. As of March 24, 693 border guard personnel had been taken into custody.

“Human Rights Watch urged the government to conduct a transparent and swift enquiry to identify those responsible for the killings and to prosecute them in civilian courts.

“An apparent mutiny by members of the border guards against their army officers left 55 senior army officers and 19 others dead, including the director general of the border guards and his wife. The government, police, and army have begun parallel investigations into the incident. As of March 24, 693 border guard personnel had been taken into custody.

“Human Rights Watch urged the government to conduct a transparent and swift enquiry to identify those responsible for the killings and to prosecute them in civilian courts.”

Here is the beginning of my comments. Human Rights Watch is continuing to demand trial in ‘civilian courts’, while the pro-ruling party lawyer also made a similar opinion. More importantly, his opinion was published in a very prominent manner. Why? At whose instruction? What is the reason behind such over-enthusiasm?

In the same newspaper, a commentary in Indian newspaper The Statesman was prominently published at the front page.

Manash Ghosh, Editor of The Statesman in this editorial opinion put several points. But, let us just bring here only a few points, which will give a scope to my readers to think about the reason behind such editorial as well as its re-publication in Bangladeshi press.

Mr. Ghosh wrote, “THE purpose behind “mutinous” Bangladesh Rifles’ jawans killing 55 army officers at their Dhaka headquarters in Pilkhana on 25 February was to invite severe armed retaliation from the military. This sinister, well-planned move — a product of deep-rooted political conspiracy — had the potential of provoking a countrywide armed conflict between the 68,000-strong BDR paramilitary and 150,000-strong army. Such a conflict might not only have plunged the country into bloody civil war but also ensured the ouster of Sheikh Hasina’s democratically elected secular left-of-centre government and even her assassination.”

Here is my comment! Mr. Ghosh almost discovered a conspiracy theory behind the Massacre thus showing green-card to the ruling government by giving it the certificate of innocence. How and wherefrom he got all such conspiracy details? He wanted to justify that Sheikh Hasina or her government is not behind this brutal massacre. In this case, my first question to him is, why the PM was wasting time in allowing Bangladesh army to storm in to the Bangladesh Riffles headquarters, which would have saved several lives and dignities of women?

Then Mr. Ghosh continues to say, “actually, the original plan of the pro-Pakistan conspirators, according to the latest official findings, was to kill the Prime Minister at a special dinner on 24 February at BDR headquarters, to which Hasina had been invited by the paramilitary’s director general, Major General Shakeel Ahmed. But she had a providential escape as her “heavy workload” kept her away from the function. This led the conspirators to opt for an alternate plan — to embark on a killing spree of army officers serving the BDR the next morning so as to create the “desired impact and inflict maximum damage”. The 25 February massacre was executed jointly by a small band of “with direct links with Bangladesh Nationalist Party and the Jamat-e-Islami who had been smuggled into Pilkhana in a grey SUV that morning and a select group of young BDR recruits, inducted during the last years of Khaleda-Jamat rule.”

Here is my second question. Wherefrom the Statesman editor obtained official findings? From talkative minister Lt. Col. Faruk Khan? Mr. Ghosh also gave a false information. Sheikh Hasina was already in the BDR headquarters on February 24, 2009 and she was not having any dinner invitation for that evening. This is again false information. The dinner invitation was for February 26, 2009 where Hasina Wajed decided not to attend due to prior intelligence warning.

Mr. Ghosh also wanted to say that, the BDR men had nothing to do with the murder and brutality but some ‘imported elements’ in grey color pickup were behind this! What a shameful lie by the editor of a prominent daily!

Now, let us see another portion of his comments, where he said, “The BNP-Jamat masterminds so successfully camouflaged their political agenda by highlighting the genuine grievances of the jawans against their officers that initially ordinary people and even the media overwhelmingly supported the mutineers’ “just cause”. Processions were even taken out in old Dhaka hailing the mutiny as “Sipahi janata bhai bhai” to garner popular support.”

Wao, what brilliant lie! Does the editor of Statesman know that the procession was brought out by none by leaders of Bangladesh Awami League and the activists of the ruling Grand Alliance? Meanwhile, Awami League leader Torab Ali and his son are already arrested by the law enforcing agencies for their direct involvement behind the massacre and for bringing out procession.

It may also be mentioned here that, Barrister Fazle Noor Taposh, a lawmaker from the ruling party asked his workers to make announcements from mosques urging local residents to move into 2-3 kilometer distance. This was done by this man with the goal of allowing the BDR men to flee from the spot of massacre. By now, investigators are already sure of this fact.

Statesman editor then wrote, “How well planned the conspiracy was can be gauged from the fact that the killings took place within an hour of the “mutiny”.”

This is also false information. According facts, murders took place inside the BDR headquarters in several phases. This was already disclosed by several BDR men as well as those rescued army officers.

Now is the most interesting point by Mr. Ghosh. He wrote, “Such brutality sent shock waves through Bangladesh. But these sadistic acts were soon to convince even ordinary Bangladeshis that this was no spur-of-the-moment outburst by mutineers but a pre-meditated, well-calculated move to inflame the military, the goal being to force the army to launch retaliatory strikes on Pilkhana and 48 small and big BDR camps located close to the border with India and the numerous BDR border outposts.”

Here the editor rejected any pre-planned conspiracy. But, we remember what he said at the beginning of the article. How the editor already missed what he wrote before?

The Statesman said, “Khaleda Zia and Jamat leaders wanted an all out military offensive on Pilkhana and other BDR camps even if this meant declaration of a full-fledged war against the paramilitary.”

Yes, if Khaleda Zia or anyone else was looking for offensives to combat militancy then it was very correct decision. Where did the editor of Statesman find anything wrong? Does he remember how our Indian army stormed into various places of mutiny including the Golden Temple or Hazrat Bal Mosque?

Manash Ghosh then wrote, “She was heckled and abused by a section of army officers, some of whom even bayed for her blood. They blamed Awami League leaders for the massacre. Their anti-army speeches in parliament, according them, had provoked the killing. Not a word was said against the BNP and the Jamat, although their leaders had said far worse things against the military top brass, especially the army chief.”

The way of expression of the editor is to provoke Sheikh Hasina Wajed in punishing those army officers for their abusive attitude and for paying Hasina’s blood. He also said, none of the army men uttered single word about BNP’s members of parliament saying bad thing about army inside the parliament. How does he know the entire proceedings inside the closed-door meeting room inside Dhaka Cantonment that took place between Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed and army officers? Who handed over the details to him? Anyone from Awami League?

In reality, according to YouTube released contents of the meeting, the army officers expressed anger against all politicians. Not only against Awami League.

And then, Mr. Ghosh said, “At the funeral of the slain officers, a section of army officers abused and actually turned away senior Awami League ministers and leaders whereas those from the BNP and Jamat were allowed to take part. Army chief General Moin was also abused and pushed around by junior officers, which amounted to gross indiscipline and violation of the army code.”

This is possibly put with the intention of instigating the army chief in drawing disciplinary actions against those angry army officers, who were heavy with shock at the brutal murder of their colleague brothers.

And here is the most interesting portion of Mr. Ghosh’s article. He wrote, “The Padua killings put Hasina’s government in such a tight spot that before she air-dashed to Delhi she telephoned then Prime Minister AB Vajpayee to apologise and express “deep regret” over the incident. According to one former Awami League minister who was present during Hasina’s telephone call to Vajpayee, she said “sorry” 12 times.”

Sheikh Hasina Wajed should now investigate who might be that former minister, who leaked secret conversation between the heads of state to a journalist.

Bangladeshi intelligence, while investigating the BDR massacre issue, should also check the mystery behind Statesman’s editorial and its special re-publication by a section of local press.

Michael Waddington is a court martial lawyer – court martial attorney that defends military personnel worldwide as well as deployed civilian contractors subject to the UCMJ. He defends Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine, Coast Guard, and civilian contractor court martial cases. He has successfully defended military personnel as a court martial lawyer Army Navy Marine & Air Force court martials in Germany, England, Italy, Iraq, Kuwait, Korea, Okinawa, Japan, Yokota, and throughout the United States. military-defense-lawyer-recentcases.htm.

Court Martial Attorney – Kazini judgement for April 7

By Charels Ariko

THE General Court Martial will pass judgement against the former army commander, Maj. Gen. James Kazini, on April 7.

Sources yesterday said Lt. Gen. Ivan Koreta will lead a panel of seven UPDF officers that will simultaneously pass a ruling on whether Kazini is guilty or not and also pass judgment.

The judgment is about a case where Kazini is accused of disobeying President Yoweri Museveni’s orders as the commander-in-chief of the armed forces.

According to prosecution, Kazini committed the offence between 2002 and 2003. One of the directives that Kazini is alleged to have disobeyed is that of March, 5, 2002 against the transfer of soldiers in large numbers.

The former army commander argued that there were conflicting directives from the President at the time in relation to the transfer of soldiers.

Kazini and his lawyer, Kenneth Kakuru, attended Wednesday’s closed session in Makindye, a Kampala suburb. “The case is over. We are now going to wait,” a smiling Kakuru said as he left the court premises.

On March 27, 2008, Kazini was sentenced to three years imprisonment for causing financial loss of over sh60m.

He petitioned the Constitutional Court that is yet to hear his petition. The April 7 case is among a string of others that Kazini is still facing in the army court.

Michael Waddington is a court martial lawyer – court martial attorney that defends military personnel worldwide as well as deployed civilian contractors subject to the UCMJ. He defends Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine, Coast Guard, and civilian contractor court martial cases. He has successfully defended military personnel as a court martial lawyer Army Navy Marine & Air Force court martials in Germany, England, Italy, Iraq, Kuwait, Korea, Okinawa, Japan, Yokota, and throughout the United States. military-defense-lawyer-recentcases.htm.

Court Martial Attorney - Serial AF Rapist Case Under Review

by Bryan Mitchell

The conviction of an airman who admitted sexually assaulting more than a dozen men -sodomizing at least three victims — over a two-year period is currently being reviewed by the Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals.

George W. Gatto assaulted his victims — the majority fellow airmen — after they were incapacitated from alcohol or drugs and often recorded the attacks with pictures and video.

Gatto pleaded guilty in a court martial last year at Dover Air Force Base, Del., after an Air Force Office of Special Investigations probe revealed Gatto as one of the military’s most prolific sex predators in recent history.

The disgraced airman is currently housed the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., serving a 40-year sentence while his case is reviewed by the appeals court.

The Air Force is no stranger to unusual or lurid sexual assault cases. About the same time Gatto was in the midst of his assault spree, an Air Force jury in February 2007 convicted Eglin Air Force Base Capt. Devery L. Taylor of drugging and raping four men.

Taylor’s case drew national headlines, but Air Force courtrooms across the country and the world regularly host sex crimes cases involving allegations of rape, sexual assault and possession of child pornography.

But few are as shocking as Gatto’s case.

Little is known about the sexual predator as the Air Force is not required to release home of record, deployment history or age.

Gatto enlisted on Aug. 10, 2004 and was serving as an airman first class airfield systems apprentice with Dover’s 436th Communications Squadron before he was convicted last April. He had acquired five Air Force decorations during his short tenure, including the Good Conduct Medal.

The case — extraordinary for its length and breadth — is also shrouded in uncertainty. The Air Force Office of Special Investigations declined an interview request while the military prosecutor who handled the case at Dover Air Force Base has since left the installation.

Based on a four-page charge sheet provided by the Air Force as well as information provided by the Defense Department’s Inspector General, Gatto was at one point under investigation for the sexual assault of 13 adult men over two years at two Air Force bases.

Many if not all of the incidents occurred while the victims were unconscious from alcohol or drugs and an unknown number were recorded via digital photographs and videos.

It’s unclear if Gatto deliberately drugged his victims as that’s not listed in the court documents provided by the Air Force.

The string of assaults began at Keesler Air Force Base, Miss., around May 2005 when Gatto committed sodomy and sexual assault by undressing his victim and fondling him while he was unconscious, according to court records.

He transferred to Dover in the fall of 2005 and immediately continued his attacks. His charges sheet lists two counts of sodomy between August and October of 2005.

Over the next two years, he assaulted more than a dozen men across Dover Air Force Base, cutting their clothes off after they had passed out and engaging in various acts of sexual assault.

The court documents fail to include where the incidents occurred.

It’s also unclear how this string of vicious assaults persisted for two years without victims coming forward. The AFOSI said the investigation began after agents found child pornography images on his cellular phone.

Charges for possession of child pornography, however, are not included in the charge-sheet.

The case remains under appellate review.

Michael Waddington is a court martial lawyer – court martial attorney that defends military personnel worldwide as well as deployed civilian contractors subject to the UCMJ. He defends Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine, Coast Guard, and civilian contractor court martial cases. He has successfully defended military personnel as a court martial lawyer Army Navy Marine & Air Force court martials in Germany, England, Italy, Iraq, Kuwait, Korea, Okinawa, Japan, Yokota, and throughout the United States. military-defense-lawyer-recentcases.htm.

Court Martial Lawyer – General Court Martial to try Koboko soldiers over killings

By Frank Mugabi

The three UPDF soldiers who shot and killed two boda boda cyclists in Koboko town on March 6, will be tried by the General Court Martial and not the Field Court Martial.

Speaking at a meeting between the Commissioner General of Uganda Revenue Authority, Allen Kagina and local leaders in Koboko district on Monday, the Arua-based UPDF 409 Brigade commander, Lt. Col. David Kabangira, said they could not convene a Field Court Martial because its authority was challenged in the Constitutional Court.

“A Field Court Martial means a person found guilty can be placed tied on a tree and shot dead without appeal. The Uganda Law Society petitioned the Constitutional Court challenging such powers,” Kabangira said.

He explained that they would, however, seat the division General Court Martial which allows convicts to appeal.

Kagina said investigations into the incident that sparked riots, were going on. “I can assure you that justice will take its course once the investigations are done,” she said.

Kagina disclosed that a wider investigation would be commissioned to dig into the behaviour of URA staff in the region after hearing from the LC5 chairman, William Dada, that URA officials misbehaved while on duty.

Dada cited Biraro and Julius whom he accused of using guns to intimidate residents. He also appealed to the Government to streamline fuel prices across the country. Dada noted that fuel in West Nile was being sold sh2,000 above the price in Kampala.

The chairman of the business community, Hassan Menya, accused URA agents of encouraging smuggling by taking money without issuing receipts and reselling impounded commodities.

He suggested that the UPDF soldiers seconded to URA be given a different uniform for easier identification. Kagina promised to meet the business community to design a compatible mode of taxation.

Meanwhile, the families of the deceased refuted claims that their sons were killed in a fire exchange. Relatives of Cosmas Data said he was hit by the bullet as he took school fees for his brother. They described it as cold blood murder.

URA contributed sh1m to the two families’ burial expenses.

Michael Waddington is a court martial lawyer – court martial attorney that defends military personnel worldwide as well as deployed civilian contractors subject to the UCMJ. He defends Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine, Coast Guard, and civilian contractor court martial cases. He has successfully defended military personnel as a court martial lawyer Army Navy Marine & Air Force court martials in Germany, England, Italy, Iraq, Kuwait, Korea, Okinawa, Japan, Yokota, and throughout the United States. military-defense-lawyer-recentcases.htm.

Court Martial Lawyer - The Court martial of General Omar Al Bashir

Written by Emma Okocha

(Traffic to the Vanguard Kirikiri Canal is jammed….. the sky is lit in crimson colours. The sirens announce the arrival of the Libyan delegation preceded by the parachute dropping of Gaddafi’s female bodyguards.

Wow! there is no sexier spectacle, and very few women can tempt to that level of orgasm. Especially, when these security details parade the place in battle gear camouflages, taunting their dazzled audience with some delicate trigger caresses of the awesome AK-47 rifles, slung across their pointed breasts.

Covered, veiled or open, the Arab green-eyed model, has always mystified from the ages, hypothesising enemy Generals on the Mediterranean, to change alliances and affect the outcomes of wars. Uncovered or veiled, she is the meeting pot that unifies the rugged strength of the mother continent with the incandescent beauty of the Far East.

Finally, the Chairman of the African Union, Col. Muamar Gaddafi alights, and under his custody, is the man on the wanted list of the International Criminal Court over his atrocities in Darfur, the Commander-in-Chief of the Sudanese Armed Forces. The GOC parade is distracted and the Adjutant is called to order).

Col. Adamu Naira Abubakar: Adjutant, maintain disciple and stop gazing at those women! Will you carry on with the case file on the table….the prosecution of the Butcher of Darfur!

Major Olabisi Olakankita: This is an International Court martial involving the defendant, General Al-Bashir. The prosecution understands that you were recently indicted by the International Court at the Hague for committing heinous crimes against the people of Darfur; and you as the Commander- in-Chief instigated the Janjaweed…

General Bashir: I cannot stand trial before you or any other officer below the rank of a four star General.

General One Leg Atamuna: Col, Adjutant, Major 419 Oboh Utueke, you may all fall out. The accused is right. We must follow the military traditions and adhere to due process. This is a high profile trial. The defendant is not only a General commanding, he is a sitting head of government. By our military conventions and codes, he has a right to be tried by his peers. By the letters of my recent promotion, I’m qualified to lead this Court martial As it is also usual with our own traditions in the Vanguard Kirikiri Canal, we have no provisions for Attorneys, and the verdict here is final. No appeals.
Proceed Admiral Resource Control, Kia Kia Omo-regie.

W01 Okon Bassey: The Darfur killer is giving us orders in our headquarters. Army don spoil.

Admiral Kia-Kia Omo-regie: W01, you must fall out with the rest of the officers. This is not the King of the Jews episode. This is an international trial and the verdict of this tribunal would impact on Africa, Sudan relations with its neighbours; Europe, the US, Asia and the world in general. I shall therefore, proceed from where the International Court at the Hague stopped. General, do you have an Opening Statement?

General Bashir: Recently, the International Court at the Hague after a Kangaroo hearing, indicted me and held me responsible for the genocide going on in Darfur. In my absence, and without hearing my own side of the case, I was proclaimed the Butcher of Darfur. With that indictment, the fabric holding the Sudanese society was broken to pieces. That was the worst disclaimer any court could extend to my government and my people after the unprecedented compromises we made to bring the horrendous, and the longest African war in Southern Sudan to an end.

I have therefore suspended very pressing state functions, have ignored the imperialistic courts at the Hague to come to the Vanguard Canal. The GOC Court’s reputation is burning like bush fire and the Sudanese people and government are looking forward to receiving an unbiased verdict. General Bashir is not the Butcher of Darfur. And I have come here with a prominent African to prove my case beyond reasonable doubt.

Col. Gaddafi: I’m the Chairman of the AU. This man is innocent. If you convict him, Sudan the largest African country will be Congo, without Mobutu Sese Seko. African Democracies need very strong leaders.
Admiral KK Omo-regie: We have some US Congressional representatives from the Hill. Congressmen Frank Wolfe (R), Charles Rangel and Donald Payne (D) … while, the Honourable members will testify against the Al-Bashir the US Embassy sends their Highest considerations…

Congressman Wolfe: (Walking across to the table and making eye contact with the General) I was the first Congressman to land Darfur at the outbreak of the massacres. On the advice of the GOC we circumvented Khartoum and arrived Ndjamena, before finding our way into Darfur. (Handing over his documentary exhibits to the Tribunal and still fixing his eyes on the Butcher). The Virginian Congressman thundered; Almost fifteen years ago, the world watched as more than 800,000 Tutsis were murdered in Rwanda. When the killings finally ended, world leaders apologised for failing to intervene and vowed ‘’Never Again.’’ During our trip, we visited five refugee camps; Au Shouk; Tawilah; Krinding; Sisi; and Mornay- all sprawling tent cities jam-packed with thousands of displaced families and fast breeding grounds for diseases. The villages have been burnt down, women raped and there were no men! We watched the barbarous men …the Arab Janjaweed sitting astride camels and horses just a short distance from the camps. The Janjaweed kill men, abduct children and even dump animal carcasses and corpses into wells. Their mandate which has the support of the government is to exterminate the black Muslim African population.

General Atamuna: Congressman where is your evidence?

Congressman Wolfe: (Setting up a giant monitor across the Parade Ground…. The US Congressman showed in his incriminating video, entitled ‘’The Janjaweed in Action’’…) This is the shocking revelation of the century; the raiding of the villages, the shooting from Soviet -made Antonov planes, which is supplied by the Sudanese government. Then the heroic sacrifices of Doctors without Borders and their desert daily battles to save this endangered black humanity from extinction. This is our blood evidence. The Sudan government is the Janjaweed!!

(Everybody, including officers and men surged forward to approach the Court martial, even the perpetrators of this visible genocide were so much engrossed to the monitor and did not notice the GOC’s entry ….and without waiting for his ceremonial beckon he ordered the tribunal to come to attention.)

The GOC: The Presidents of the Theocracies of Libya and Sudan, Congressional Delegates from Capitol Hill, Officers and Men of the Vanguard Canal Combat Regiment;

Before those surging masses invade the Canal, and take justice to the streets, we must make a very quick pronouncement. President Omar Al-Bashir like Mobutu before him is a strong leader of his people. It is to his credit that his tenure brought stability to his oil exporting country. In 1997, he was able to sign a ceasefire accord with the Anya Anya Secessionists, and again to his credit, the longest African civil war was brought to an end. However, the Anya Anya upsurge is a different case before this Tribunal.

General, you were invited to appear before the International Court at The Hague to defend your charge.

General, this Court martial has established a Prima Facie case against you and your government’s involvement to ‘Auschwishen’ the black Muslims of Darfur. We believe the scientific testimony of the US Congressmen and those of the Doctors without Borders.

Genocide, whether in Asaba, Rwanda or Darfur is a crime against humanity. In German, it means to wipe out, in the Zulu language, Genocide is called ‘Mfecane’ meaning the grinding; your Arabic translation of Genocide says it all; ‘Ckateal Jamay’, meaning, to kill off a whole group, which the Amharic Ethiopians call ‘Zr Matfat,’ meaning to exterminate a whole race.

General, you have committed ‘Mfecane,’ and ‘Auschwishened’ on your black, helpless people of Darfur.

Admiral, hand over the General for similar treatment. An eye for an eye, so says the Holy Book

The Court Martial is dismissed.

Michael Waddington is a court martial lawyer – court martial attorney that defends military personnel worldwide as well as deployed civilian contractors subject to the UCMJ. He defends Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine, Coast Guard, and civilian contractor court martial cases. He has successfully defended military personnel as a court martial lawyer Army Navy Marine & Air Force court martials in Germany, England, Italy, Iraq, Kuwait, Korea, Okinawa, Japan, Yokota, and throughout the United States. military-defense-lawyer-recentcases.htm.

Court Martial Attorney – Federal criminal complaint contends Obama ineligible

Ex-officer alleges prez used ‘contrivance, concealment, dissembling and deceit’

By Bob Unruh – WorldNetDaily

An ex-military officer has raised the stakes in the ongoing dispute over Barack Obama’s eligibility to be president, filing a criminal complaint against the “imposter” with the U.S. attorney’s office for the Eastern District of Tennessee.

Retired U.S. Navy officer Walter Francis Fitzpatrick III, who has run a campaign for two decades to uncover and try to correct what he believes are criminal activities within the military, accused the president of “treason.”

In his complaint addressed to Obama via U.S Attorney Russell Dedrick and Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward Schmutzer, Eastern District, Tennessee, Fitzpatrick wrote: “I have observed and extensively recorded invidious attacks by military-political aristocrats against the Constitution for twenty years.

“Now you have broken in and entered the White House by force of contrivance, concealment, conceit, dissembling, and deceit. Posing as an impostor president and commander in chief you have stripped civilian command and control over the military establishment.”

He cited the deployment of “U.S. Army active duty combat troops into the small civilian community of Samson, Ala.,” and said, “We come now to this reckoning. I accuse you and your military-political criminal assistants of TREASON. I name you and your military criminal associates as traitors. Your criminal ascension manifests a clear and present danger. You fundamentally changed our form of government. The Constitution no longer works.

“I identify you as a foreign born domestic enemy,” he wrote.

The 1975 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis told WND that a short time after his complaint was filed he was visited by two U.S. Secret Service agents, but they left after telling him they perceived no threat to the president in the document.

Where’s the proof Barack Obama was born in the U.S. or that he fulfills the “natural-born American” clause in the Constitution? If you still want to see it, join some 350,000 others and sign up now!

Officials with the Knoxville office of the Secret Service told WND the only person who could release information to the media was on vacation and they would not comment on the issue.

Likewise, officials with the U.S. attorney’s office declined to respond to a WND request for a comment.

Fitzpatrick told WND the U.S. Justice Department needs to look into the issue.

WND reported this week that officials at the Justice Department, along with those at the Supreme Court, confirmed that documentation in a case challenging Obama’s eligibility had arrived and was scheduled for an evaluation.

That case is being handled by California attorney Orly Taitz, who is working through her Defend Our Freedoms Foundation to handle several cases raising questions over Obama’s qualification to be president under the Constitution’s demand that the office be occupied only by a “natural born” citizen.

Taitz was informed by Karen Thornton of the Department of Justice that all of the case documents and filings have arrived and have been forwarded to the Office of Solicitor General Elena Kagan, including three dossiers.

Fitzpatrick said he has devoted his career fulltime to investigating issues in military justice and defending wrongly accused soldiers, sailors and Marines. His own career was torpedoed by a court martial more than 20 years ago over his authorization of the use of a ship’s fund to send an officer to the funeral for his brother, who had been killed by terrorists.

Fitzpatrick’s situation has been described not only on his own website but forum pages on other websites that deal with military issues.

He alleges his case was fabricated and even his signature was forged by officials connected to his case. He points to the fact that he ultimately retired and was awarded a military pension as support for his allegations.

But he says the new complaint against Obama should define the issue of the president’s eligibility.

“They either have to come and get me or get Mr. Obama’s eligibility proved. He has an officer in his military saying he is guilty of trespass on the Constitution,” Fitzpatrick told WND.

“They can recall me against my will to active duty,” he said. “I would refuse. It’s an illegal order by a man who is not by commander in chief.”

WND has reported on dozens of civil case legal challenges to Obama’s status as a “natural born citizen.” The Constitution, Article 2, Section 1, states, “No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President.”

Some of the legal challenges question whether he was actually born in Hawaii, as he insists. If he was born out of the country, Obama’s American mother, the suits contend, was too young at the time of his birth to confer American citizenship to her son under the law at the time.

Other challenges have focused on Obama’s citizenship through his father, a Kenyan subject to the jurisdiction of the United Kingdom at the time of his birth, thus making him a dual citizen. The cases contend the framers of the Constitution excluded dual citizens from qualifying as natural born.

Further, others question his citizenship by virtue of his attendance in Indonesian schools during his childhood and question on what passport did he travel to Pakistan three decades ago.

Adding fuel to the fire is Obama’s persistent refusal to release documents that could provide answers. While his supporters cite an online version of a “Certification of Live Birth” from Hawaii, critics point out such documents actually were issued for children not born in the state.

Hawaiian officials have confirmed they have a birth certificate on file for Obama, but it cannot be released without his permission, and they have not revealed the information it contains.

John Eidsmoe, an expert on the U.S. Constitution working with the Foundation on Moral Law, has told WND a demand for verification of Obama’s eligibility appears to be legitimate.

Eidsmoe said it’s clear that Obama has something in the documentation of his history, including his birth certificate, college records and other documents that “he does not want the public to know.”

Michael Waddington is a court martial lawyer – court martial attorney that defends military personnel worldwide as well as deployed civilian contractors subject to the UCMJ. He defends Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine, Coast Guard, and civilian contractor court martial cases. He has successfully defended military personnel as a court martial lawyer Army Navy Marine & Air Force court martials in Germany, England, Italy, Iraq, Kuwait, Korea, Okinawa, Japan, Yokota, and throughout the United States. military-defense-lawyer-recentcases.htm.