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A Navy SEAL was charged with murder in the stabbing death of a wounded person in Iraq. His trial begins today

A Navy SEAL was charged with murder in the stabbing death of a wounded person in Iraq His trial begins today
A Navy SEAL was charged with murder in the stabbing death of a wounded person in Iraq. His trial begins today

2019-06-18 00:00:00 - Source: Iraq News

The trial of a Navy SEAL charged with premeditated murder in the stabbing death of an injured person in Iraq begins this week.

Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher is accused of multiple violations of military law that took place while he was deployed in the Iraqi city of Mosul in 2017.

Jury selection in the trial began Monday. Opening statements are scheduled for Tuesday.

If convicted of murder, Gallagher would face life in prison.

Defense attorney says Gallagher didn’t murder anyone

According to a charge sheet from November, Gallagher stabbed “a wounded male person” in the neck and body with a knife while battling ISIS in Mosul. The sheet says he did so “with premeditation.”

Gallagher’s lawyer has said the person was an ISIS combatant, and witnesses told investigators that the stabbing victim appeared to be about 15.

Gallagher also is accused, according to a charge sheet, of shooting at a male and female noncombatant and of posing for a photo next a corpse during his re-enlistment ceremony.

Gallagher has pleaded not guilty. A statement released by his defense team called the allegations “a smear campaign full of lies,” CNN affiliate KSWB-TV reported.

Gallagher, 40, is a highly decorated veteran who has served 19 years in the Navy, according to KSWB.

His attorney, Colby Vokey, told reporters in January that Gallagher didn’t murder anyone and that he and other special operators are asked to do unimaginable things on the battlefield.

“This is a travesty of justice and it needs to be righted,” Gallagher’s wife, Andrea, told CNN in January.

Judge removed lead prosecutor

A Navy judge removed lead prosecutor Chris Czaplak from the case earlier this month.

In his ruling, the judge, Capt. Aaron Rugh, said the prosecution sent emails to the defense and a reporter that were embedded with email-tracking code, according to KSWB. The coding in the emails gave the prosecution the ability to track the recipients’ email activity.

The devices were ordered with Czaplak’s knowledge as part of a Naval Criminal Investigative Service probe into media leaks in the case.

The defense argued that Czaplak was unfit to prosecute the case because future investigations into the legality of the email tracker could create a conflict of interest.





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