![]() Master Chief Petty Officer Brian Alazzawi, the first defense witness called to the stand in the trial of Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher, also described how one of the main accusers in the case had seemed to harbor a grudge against Gallagher. Navy SEAL Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher arrives at court with his wife Andrea and brother Sean (C) for the start of his court-martial trial at Naval Base San Diego in San Diego, California, U.S., June 18, 2019. Defence lawyers said it was just a warrior's attempt at dark humour.U.S. He later boasted in a text, "got him with my hunting knife". In one picture, he's holding up his knife in one hand and holding the militant by his hair with his other hand. And Marine Staff Sergeant Giorgio Kirylo said after the militant died that he moved the body to take a "cool guy trophy" photo with it and saw no stab wounds on his neck.Ĭhief Gallagher also took photos of himself with the corpse. The Navy has said it is considering perjury charges against Special Operator Scott.Īn Iraqi general who handed the wounded prisoner to the SEALs testified that Chief Gallagher did not stab the boy. Two SEALs testified they saw Chief Gallagher plunge his knife into the teenager's neck, including Special Operator Corey Scott, who stunned the court when he said he was the one who ultimately killed the boy by plugging his breathing tube with his thumb as an act of mercy. Seven SEALs said Chief Gallagher unexpectedly stabbed the 17-year-old prisoner on May 3, 2017, moments after he and the other medics treated the boy. Most were granted immunity to protect them from being prosecuted for acts they described on the stand. Nearly a dozen SEALs have testified over the past two weeks. Court hears shock confessionĪ jury of five Marines and two sailors, including a SEAL, will decide whether Chief Gallagher, on his eighth deployment, went off the rails and fatally stabbed the war prisoner as a kind of trophy kill, or if the boy died from wounds sustained in an airstrike and Chief Gallagher is being falsely accused by junior SEALs trying to permanently oust a platoon chief they hate. The lead prosecutor was removed after allegedly tracking the defence team's emails to find a news leak, and the lead investigator acknowledged making mistakes. The trial also has shown the struggles of military courts in prosecuting alleged war crimes. The scandals have prompted a review by the US Navy's top commanders into the behaviours of the special warfare teams. A SEAL last month pleaded guilty to hazing and assault charges for his role in the 2017 strangulation of a US Army Green Beret in Africa. The case has laid bare challenges among US special forces as the United States increasingly relies on such troops, which make up only 2 per cent of the military yet carry out most of its battles around the globe.Ī number of special forces members are on trial this year. Lieutenant Jacob Portier, the officer in charge, has been charged separately for overseeing the ceremony and not reporting the alleged stabbing. "SEALs, it seems to me, have been seeing themselves as godlike on the battlefield, and there is a real danger in taking that view of one's unit or oneself," said Gary Solis, a former military judge and Marine Corps prosecutor who teaches law at Georgetown University.ĭuring Chief Gallagher's trial, it was revealed that nearly all his platoon members readily posed for photos with the dead militant and watched as Chief Gallagher read his reenlistment oath near the body in an impromptu ceremony. It has pitted veterans against one another, both inside the courtroom and out, in a fierce debate over brotherhood, morality and loyalty. No matter the outcome, the court-martial at a US Naval Base in San Diego has provided a rare view into the insular Navy SEAL community and will likely have a long-term impact on one of the US military's most secretive and revered forces. ![]() The group would eventually lead to formal allegations that Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher, a decorated sniper and medic, fatally stabbed a wounded teenage Islamic State captive in his care and shot civilians in Iraq in 2017.Ĭhief Gallagher, 40, has pleaded not guilty to the charges.Ī jury of mostly combat Marines will ultimately decide the fate of the 19-year-veteran and Bronze Star recipient charged with murder, attempted murder and conduct prejudicial to good order and discipline for posing for photographs with a corpse. Its purpose was even more improbable: a forum to discuss alleged war crimes the US special forces members said their chief committed on a recent tour of duty in Iraq.
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