US marine 'deserted'
2004-12-10 09:04
Raleigh - A marine who was reported abducted in Iraq and later turned up in his native Lebanon was charged with desertion, the latest twist in a story that included the broadcast last summer of the man's picture, purportedly showing him in captivity.
According to the 4th Marine Expeditionary Brigade at Camp Lejeune, Chaplain Wassef Ali Hassoun was charged on Thursday following a five-month investigation into his June disappearance from a United States military camp near Fallujah, Iraq.
Hassoun, of West Jordan, Utah, is accused of taking unauthorised leave from the unit where he served as an Arabic interpreter.
Hassoun also is charged with loss of government property and theft of a military firearm for allegedly leaving the marine camp while still in possession of his 9mm service pistol, as well as theft and wrongful appropriation of a government vehicle.
Possible court-martial
Major Matt Morgan of the brigade said neither Hassoun nor his lawyer planned to make any public statement about the charges. Hassoun's family in Utah did not answer their phone on Thursday.
Morgan said no date has been set for an Article 32 hearing, one of the first steps toward a possible court-martial in the military justice system.
Hassoun is not in custody or confined to Camp Lejeune, he is working in the brigade motor pool.
Morgan said he would continue to go about his normal duties, although he is considered to be non-deployable until the charges are resolved.
The desertion count carries a five-year maximum prison sentence and the other counts carry 10-year maximums.
If convicted, Hassoun also could be dishonourably discharged and ordered to forfeit his pay and allowances.
Hassoun was last seen in Iraq on June 19. He did not report for duty the next day and was listed as missing.
On June 27, the Arabic news network Al-Jazeera showed a photo of Hassoun, blindfolded with a sword behind his head.
Anti-coalition forces
Al-Jazeera said a group called the National Islamic Resistance/1920 Revolution Brigade claimed to be holding him and was threatening to decapitate him unless detainees in "US-led occupation prisons" were released.
On July 8, Hassoun contacted American officials in Beirut, Lebanon, and he was taken to the American Embassy there.
He spent about a week in a US military hospital at Landstuhl, Germany, returned to the US, and eventually to Camp Lejeune.
He has made one statement since returning to the US, saying he was captured and held against his will by anti-coalition forces. Hassoun has declined interview requests.
During fighting last month in Fallujah, US troops recovered Hassoun's personal belongings in a box on the third floor of a commercial building.
The property included an identification card, a uniform and a book.
- AP