Friday May 8, 2009, 2:39 pm

This is heartbreaking, Uhoud!

Friday May 8, 2009, 2:42 pm
Iraqi student for the death penalty for former U.S. soldier, Steven Dale Green, who raped an Iraqi girl and murdering her and her family south of Baghdad in 2006. . And proved to the jury in U.S. federal court in Kentucky (Central Eastern) Thursday, after two days of the deliberations of 17 charges against Green, including the rape and murder of a premeditated design and obstruction of justice. The head of the nearby star Mahdi, the "crime committed with a premeditated attack on all Iraqis, so we call the court to say the right word as a crime against the honor and the killing of an innocent family." He stressed that "there is no right, but the right to inflict severe punishment of the soldier."

Green was with his colleagues in March 2006 in the town of Mahmudiyah (30 miles) south of Baghdad, had raped a young woman in the fourth years of age, and killed her family". Umm Mohammed said Janabi, in the fifties, one of the relatives of the victims, "we expect of the American judiciary has a responsibility to humanity today, that justice be applied down punishment on criminals." The victims were the head of the family Qasim Hamza al-Rashid (50 years) and his wife Fakhriyah Taha (42 years) and their two daughters Abeer (15 years) and Hadil (seven years).The Iraqi military said a doctor in August 2006, to testify at the trial about the crime, "I first arrived on the scene, the girl was lying on the ground naked (...) partially burned, and with a bullet wound under her right eye." "The sister was in another room and was shot in the neck. The bodies of the father and mother dead perspectives represented in the abdomen and chest." For his part, asked the member of the nearby Al-Hussein Abdel Obeidi, the "trial of the soldier, according to the Iraqi judiciary because of crime committed on Iraqi land." If you had to be tried in the United States, the administration must demonstrate its integrity in the judiciary right down the harshest penalties." In turn, said the official, the agony of early awakening in the rock cliff, "The demand of the Iraqis, especially the tribes of Mahmudiyah, awakening councils, is still tough penalties for the crime with blood on it was an honor," he said. He said: "If I were the judge, has implemented the decision of the Iraqi people to death immediately." He also appealed to Ghurery Hamid (37 years), a teacher from Mahmudiyah, "the Iraqi government to follow up the punishment of crime port" as the Americans demanded an apology for all crimes committed by soldiers against Iraqis. "

The affair sparked widespread anger in Iraq, as in the United States, and asked the Iraqi prime minister Nuri al-Maliki, Iraqi participation in the investigation, and put an end to the immunity enjoyed by the U.S. military. Will be considered by a jury as of next Monday whether he will be judged on the Green to death. The Prosecutor Marissa Ford during the last session of the trial that the circumstances of the war in Iraq does not justify all of this heinous crime, saying that "the evidence in this case indicates that the defendant acted with a premeditated design and was fully aware of what to do."
It said the soldiers were keen to deny the replacement of their clothes before the commission of the offense to keep their suspicions, and suggest that the rebels committed the crime, and then burning the girl's body and clothes in an attempt to erase the effects of the crime.

"The crime was premeditated and designed and implemented in cold blood", adding: "Everything was planned." ". For his part, Maher said Janabi (34 years) that "the adoption of a U.S. soldier who admitted his crime the right to insult the family of the Iraqi people" and demanded "severe punishment to be a lesson to others".

Friday May 8, 2009, 3:19 pm
This is really sad to hear.

Friday May 8, 2009, 4:52 pm
First-degree murder with aggravating factors such as rape, such as this incident, should always, if proved, be punishable by the death penalty in my view. Always.

Friday May 8, 2009, 5:06 pm



Thnx Uhoud!!!

Friday May 8, 2009, 5:20 pm
noted thank you

Friday May 8, 2009, 5:23 pm
Ok no problem with that but how about you round up all the ones that have killed hundreds of innocent Americans just doing they're jobs funny how you want to post something that happened to your people but it's ok if it happens to some one else I totally agree with you that his person should be executed for what he has done but then we wouldn't be over there if people over there had taken the steps to keep us from being there.

Friday May 8, 2009, 5:46 pm
..."but then we wouldn't be over there if people over there had taken the steps to keep us from being there."
A bit of a non-secutor this!

Personally I am against the death penalty in general...this man should be made to go and work for an Iraqi family or community project as his punishment...hence replacing that which was evil with some good for a change.

Friday May 8, 2009, 6:22 pm
For some reason soldiers from any and all countries consider rape a right!! Both on the field of conquest and in home nieghborhoods,they take their toll.
This soldier and his friends should ALL be prosecuted to the full extent.

Friday May 8, 2009, 10:56 pm
Noted with thanks Dearest Uhoud:)
Love,
Black Dalia:)

Saturday May 9, 2009, 2:08 am
David E. Greenwell ur statement "but then we wouldn't be over there if people over there had taken the steps to keep us from being there" is laughable.

If i remember correctly the iraqis had done everthing in their power to keep the american army out. Have u forgotten the false stories about WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION is how they managed to get into Iraq murdering thousands of innocent civilians and destroying the infrastructure. Did the iraqis ask for that too. BUSH did not need permission to send soldiers into any country.His army entered by FORCE(ignoring UN and the rest of the world. DID U FORGET ???

Saturday May 9, 2009, 2:54 am
Truly a hideous crime and I appreciate your posting this article, Uhoud. I've long wondered if charges were laid in court and now at least the perpetrators have been convicted! Frankly, I feel he deserves the death penalty.

Saturday May 9, 2009, 3:45 am
He is evil who raped Abeer and killed her sick crasy mut get dead penalty inorder to not let other troops member do it again in Iraq or any country occupated by America. Abeer clean why he rape her and burn killed her with her family. we are Arab and the girl and women is our honor ..

Saturday May 9, 2009, 4:00 am
Of course, there also need to be harsher penalties when the perpetrator is an Iraqi and not an American soldier. For some reason, although many Iraqis are horrified when an American rapes and kills an Iraqi citizen, the same standard doesn't necessarily apply when the perpetrator is an Iraqi citizen:

Story from 2009: "Authorities in the southern Iraqi city of Basra have admitted they are powerless to prevent 'honour killings' in the city following a 70 per cent increase in religious murders during the past year.

There has been no improvement in conviction rates for these killings. So far this year, 81 women in the city have been murdered for allegedly bringing shame on their families. Only five people have been convicted.

During 2007 the Basra security committee recorded 47 'honour killings' and three convictions. One lawyer in the city described how police were actively protecting perpetrators and said that a woman in Basra could now be murdered by hired hitmen for as little as $100 (£65).

The figures come despite international outrage which followed The Observer's coverage of the death of 17-year-old Rand Abdel-Qader, who was murdered by her father last April in an 'honour killing' after falling in love with a British soldier in Basra. The 4,000 British troops stationed in the city since the invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003 withdrew to the airport last September.

Rand Abdel-Qader was killed after her family discovered that she had formed a friendship with a 22-year-old infantryman whom she knew as Paul. She was suffocated by her father then hacked at with a knife. Abdel-Qader Ali was subsequently arrested and released without charge.

Rand's mother, Leila Hussein, who divorced her husband after the killing, went into hiding but was tracked down weeks later and assassinated by an unknown gunman. Her husband had told The Observer that police had congratulated him for killing his daughter.

Seven months after the murders, the problem of these killings in Basra has become worse, according to lawyers. Ali Azize Raja'a, an Iraqi prosecutor who has represented the victims of 32 'honour killings' since 2004, said that, despite accumulating sufficient evidence to prove who was responsible in each murder, he had won only one case.

He said that the greatest issue was the decision by police to release suspects. Seven in 10 of those thought to be responsible for such a killing have left the city, with little attempt made to track them down.

The father of Rand is also understood to have left Basra. He was held by police in connection with his daughter's murder for only two hours. A local businessman who described the actions of Rand's father as 'courageous' is believed to have given a considerable sum of money to him and his two sons, who disowned their mother after she objected to Rand's killing. Raja'a said that when he was approached by Leila over Rand's case, his family was threatened by relatives."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/nov/30/iraq-honor-killings-women

"According to a study conducted by the ministry of women's affairs, more than 400 women have been raped since the fall of the Saddam regime [the atory was written in 2005 - so the figures would be higher by today) - and more than half were later murdered in honour killings.

The authorities say they treat honour killings seriously, but punishments are not severe as those for pre-meditated murder which carry life sentences.

In one case, a police captain told IWPR he was imprisoned for one month and docked a month's pay after he provided a gun to a friend, who later used it to murder his unmarried and pregnant sister.

The policeman claimed that his friend told him that he wanted the weapon to protect himself, as he had recently been threatened. The murderer received a six-month prison sentence."

http://www.peacewomen.org/news/Iraq/May05/honour.html

The killing and rape of any woman is horrific. And the person who commits such a crime needs to be harshly punished - in each and every case. Not merely when he's an American.

Saturday May 9, 2009, 4:07 am
I want to make the following points -
1. Since the former soldier was given a trial in the U.S. I believe that he probably was given a fair trial and was found to be guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. In cases like this I do believe the guilty person should get the death penalty.
2. It does not matter whether our soldiers had to be there or not. No soldier should ever think that he can do whatever he wants to do because he is in a country other than his own. Fighting for his life or the lives of his fellow soldiers is very different than something like this.
3. I do agree that attention should be paid to what terrible things are done to innocent Americans as well. I also think that the same attention should be paid to the terrible things that are done by Muslims against other Muslims. These kind of things are wrong no matter who the perpetrators are and who their victims are.

Saturday May 9, 2009, 4:16 am
Good points, Esther. And I agree - I don't think anyone can claim that the soldier was not given a fair trial. He seems to be guilty beyond any reasonable doubt. And, for this horrific crime, should be put to death.

Saturday May 9, 2009, 4:18 am
Spot on, Esther and Lindsey.

Saturday May 9, 2009, 5:51 am
Well I think we all agree that what he did was wrong and that he does deserve the death penalty and now a question for a few of you that want to talk about why we went over there do you live here in America and what do you really base your statements on what you have read in the new papers or seen on TV in case you haven't figured it out the media just tells you what they want you to know not the truth of thing maybe you should write to some of the soldiers and ask them about it. Esther, Lindsey, and Pam thank you for understand what I was saying

Saturday May 9, 2009, 10:18 am
Muslims have been inflicting injury &/or death upon US citizens for decades, in the name of whatever so called cause they choose. This does NOT justify US soldiers raping, molesting, nor killing innocent children or adults. As for the whole Sept 11th thing-well I believe the US government had its hand in the incident. Comment all you want on that statement, but do your homework first. Check into just a few of the discrepancies. You won't find them on mainstream media, but the info is out there. I believe the whole 9/11 thing was a ploy by the Bush admin to gain control of the oil in Iraq. As for one individual raping or causing serious injury to another-that person causing harm should be punished to the full extent of the law. As for those that cause harm to children, they should be given life in prison because many times the harm they inflicted creates an emotional prison for the child. I think Texas has it right. You take a life & there are witnesses you don't sit on death row for years You get death. I don't believe in killing, but why should we spend billions of our tax dollars to keep these people in prison??? Many of them have more comforts & so called rights than honest upstanding citizens who never broke the law. I don't get cable TV because I broke the law, nor 3 meals a day, nor access to a lawyer should I ever want one. I have to PAY for all those things. I think the warden who puts his prisoners to work & has them living in tents has it right. I do believe the Bible says an eye for an eye...a life for a life. Now I understand that can mean to have the person who took the life replace the person who's life was taken, like a servant. But this unsavory soldier killed the family. He should be slowly killed for what he did. He killed children. Funny thing is that in the Muslim society the raped child would have been killed anyhow in one of those "honour killings". Jesh what a contradiction of terms. Killing of innocents is just wrong. Those poor honoured women & children in Muslim countries, they get raped & the perp goes free, but the woman is punished by death because she was in the wrong place at the wrong time. That is just wrong wrong wrong.

Saturday May 9, 2009, 11:19 am
I also stand against the death penalty for any case, and I second David Gould's suggestion for justice in this case.

Saturday May 9, 2009, 11:23 am
He should get the death sentence for this horrific crime.......his death would be one, but he killed the whole family and tortured a poor under age child.

Saturday May 9, 2009, 1:44 pm
He raped and mudered a 4 year old girl. (Not really a girl more like a BABY) It does not matter whos baby it was this baby belong to all of us. The death penalty would be to Qwick. I cry just thinking about this poor baby.

Saturday May 9, 2009, 3:28 pm
WOW, This is very sad. These types of crimes are just inhumane and totally insane. Which brings me to wonder what would lead up to this kind of behavior. Our soldiers are given orders against their own morals and integrity's. They are drugged and trained to kill. This kind of thing has gone on since the wars have begun along with the torture techniques at Gitmo. Pictures passed around bragging of the atrocities in Iraq. The boys come home with more traumatic shock than any other war, drugged again and sent back. I really wonder who is the real criminal here. Are we not making these young men into these killing machines?

Saturday May 9, 2009, 8:46 pm
"Of course the people don't want war, but after all , it's the leaders who determine policy, and it's always a simple matter to drag the people along whether it's a democracy, a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders.All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism, and exposing the country to greater danger."

Herman Goering at the Nuremburg trials.

Saturday May 9, 2009, 9:11 pm
Ester S Saturday May 9, 2009, 4:07 am
Lindsey O Saturday May 9, 2009, 4:16 am

Right on!

Saturday May 9, 2009, 9:16 pm
Imho, anybody that rapes and murders children deserves the death penality!

Saturday May 9, 2009, 9:18 pm
Doubtless there were many more incidents..

Saturday May 9, 2009, 9:27 pm
Trial reignites anger in Iraq
Saturday, 05. 9. 2009 – Category: English Language Articles, Human Rights, War Crimes, Women and Children

BAGHDAD — Iraqi officials and civilians called for the death sentence for a former American soldier who was convicted Thursday of a crime that pressed at the worst extremes of the complicated and often fraught relationship between Iraqis and the U.S. military: the rape of a 14-year-old Iraqi girl and the killings of her and three members of her family.

Steven Dale Green, 24, an Army private at the time of the assault in March 2006, was convicted on all 17 counts, including four counts of premeditated murder, in U.S. District Court in Paducah, Ky. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.

News of the conviction reignited anger at the Americans among residents of Mahmudiya, the town 20 miles south of Baghdad where the girl and her family lived. Some were enraged that so heinous a crime should be tried in an American court.

"This filthy crime that took place in our neighborhood is the ugliest crime, and what they call a trial or anything like is nothing but a total lie," Sabah Hassan Kadhum al-Ameri, a 40-year-old farmer, said. "If they are serious, then why don’t they try him here in Iraq? We only see these trials on TV screens. This is what makes us hate Americans and their policy."

Three other soldiers from Green’s unit, the 502nd Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne, were convicted of being present at or participating in the attack, and are serving sentences of 90, 100 and 110 years in military prisons. Two more soldiers were charged in connection with the attack; one was sentenced to 27 months; charges against the other, according to The Courier-Journal of Louisville, were dismissed in exchange for testimony and his acceptance of an "other than honorable" discharge. All testified against Green at the trial.

Prosecutors declined to comment. E-mail messages sent to Green’s lawyers were not returned.

Green, a troubled young man who had been convicted of three misdemeanors when he entered the Army, at a time when it had increased by nearly half the rate at which it granted so-called "moral waivers" to potential recruits, was stationed in one of the bloodiest areas of Iraq, a region that came to be called the Triangle of Death. In the last few months of his tour, 17 members of his battalion were killed — including two who were kidnapped, their bodies eventually found mutilated. Eight of those killed belonged to Green’s company of about 110 soldiers.

Green returned to his base at Fort Campbell in April, weeks after the attack in Mahmudiya. He was discharged from the Army on May 13, 2006, on psychiatric grounds. He was charged in the rape and murder case on July 3. At that time, Army officials said they could not comment on the circumstances of his removal, citing privacy restrictions. But they said that it was not connected to the case, and that accusations regarding his role in it had not come to light until after his discharge.

Green was charged with being the instigator, moving the girl’s parents and her young sister into a back room while two of the soldiers raped her. Green shot the family members before raping the girl and then shooting her repeatedly in the head and trying to set fire to her body.

The jury is scheduled to meet Monday to begin sentencing deliberations.

"We requested to the Americans to levy the most severe punishment against this criminal, so the dignity of the Iraqi citizens will be saved," said Shadha Mendhar al-Abussi, a member of the Human Rights Committee of the Iraqi Parliament. The country’s human rights minister attended a day of the trial, at the invitation of the U.S. Justice Department, a spokesman for the ministry said.

For some Iraqis, loathing of the U.S. military presence blended with skepticism that Green would receive a just penalty.

"The American government won’t let anyone touch them," said Qassim Salman Abdullah, 47, who lives in Yusufiya, not far from Mahmudiya. "All of their soldiers’ actions are brutal and criminal."

If a death sentence is handed down, said Sheikh Qais Aboud al-Janabi, 64, the head of the tribe of the rape victim, Abeer Qassim al-Janabi, "then such a sentence will give Iraqi people full trust in the American judicial system." He added, however, that "if anything except that happens, there will be no room for trust between us and the American forces."

Sheikh Aboud said the Americans gave relatives of the family financial compensation after the attack. "But there is no money in the whole world," he said, "which will compensate for Abeer’s honor and the crime that those soldiers committed against her."

Trial reignites anger in Iraq - State - Kentucky.com

Tags: Abeer Hamza al-Janabi, Child Killing, Child Rape, Children, Death Penalty, Green - Steven D, Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act, Rape, Series, Sexual Assault, Steven Green, War Crimes, الفتاة العراقية عبير الجنابي, الجندي الأمريكي ستيفن جرين

Sunday May 10, 2009, 7:55 am
With sadness noted.
This man should get the highest punishment possible and when this means the death sentence, so be it.
The fact is : the rape of a 4 year young girl, the murdering of the entire family and it is of no importance if you are from the Netherlands, U.S., Irac nor any country...
This soldier was wrong!!

Sunday May 10, 2009, 11:39 am
Rape & murder are terrible crimes and need to be dealt with by the full force of the law. However, I suspect that the soldier involved had been brutalised by the war and felt helpless to deal with it as he was not able to leave. This is not an excuse but a possible explanation of why it happened.

People who are involved in war situations suffer for the rest of their lives. My late uncle was a fireman during WWII and was there pulling our bodies from bombed buildings and watching friends and colleagues die. During the last few months of his life he used to scream at his nightmares as he relived what he went through.

The Americans, along with many other countries, to help the people who were at risk of being killed as Suddam tried to commit genocide. What followed was a political vacuum which was filled by dozens of groups who were happy to kill and destroy any or all other forms of their religion or who were not Muslim at all so that they could obtain power. All soldiers from all countries were attacked trying to help.

No person should do what this soldier did but he has been tried, found guilty and punished. I am wary of death sentences, they are not passed in the UK. Taking the soldier's life in retribution is not punishment it is revenge. Living in prison as a rapist and murderer will be terrible and ongoing, a better punishment than instant death.

Monday May 11, 2009, 8:30 am
Rape is wrong, no matter who does it, as is murder, and to harm a child is unforgivable.

Tuesday June 2, 2009, 2:58 am
ZeJ ". Funny thing is that in the Muslim society the raped child would have been killed anyhow in one of those "honour killings". Jesh what a contradiction of terms. Killing of innocents is just wrong. Those poor honoured women & children in Muslim countries, they get raped & the perp goes free, but the woman is punished by death because she was in the wrong place at the wrong time. That is just wrong wrong wrong."

Why do people make comments such as these. I am a muslim and my family and i have never heard of " honour killings" ever mentioned in Islam and its Beliefs. It definitely is NOT part of muslim society as u call it neither is it islamic to kill a girl who has been raped. All Muslim countries do not practice such heinous acts either. Please get your facts correct before u point your finger at Muslim Society and muslim countries. By the way Hindus and japanese cultures practice honour killings. Why are u picking on Islam when it is not part of Islamic culture yet ommit to mention those countries and people who DO practise honour killings as part of their cultures.If a muslim is practising honour killings then please note he or she is doing it of their own personal belief and not because it is part of Muslim Society or its beliefs. Only ignorant and uneducated muslims practise such heinous acts.It is totally wrong and is a grave sin according to our religion of Islam and its teachings.

Tuesday June 2, 2009, 4:29 am
Unfortunately, Ray - honor killings are part of some societies which would consider themselves to be "Muslim" societies. And while I have never personally heard of any portion of the Koran which requires this in any way, the society itself makes it a practice which is often accepted and is frequently ignored when it happens by law enforcement (or the legal penalties are much less than for other types of killings).

One of the other problems is the virtual impossibility of proving rape in any society which has Zina ordinances. Since a woman virtually cannot prove rape if she is required to present four upstanding male witnesses to the rape (which is the legal requirement). Since few rapists commit their crimes in full view of four upstanding male members of the community. And in many such cases, if the woman cannot prove the rape she is, herself, then considered guilty of having broken the law by having had sex outside of marriage. And punished accordingly. So many women are too afraid to report rape because of these laws - because they know they cannot legally prove their allegations and are afraid of the punishment they will receive for the "crime" of having been raped.

http://www.crescentlife.com/articles/social%20issues/rape_laws.htm

Tuesday June 2, 2009, 4:45 am
And you are very correct, Ray, that it isn't only in Islamic societies that honor killings occur, although it has happened in many of those nations as well.

"Hundreds, if not thousands, of women are murdered by their families each year in the name of family "honor." It's difficult to get precise numbers on the phenomenon of honor killing; the murders frequently go unreported, the perpetrators unpunished, and the concept of family honor justifies the act in the eyes of some societies.

Most honor killings occur in countries where the concept of women as a vessel of the family reputation predominates, said Marsha Freemen, director of International Women's Rights Action Watch at the Hubert Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota.

Reports submitted to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights show that honor killings have occurred in Bangladesh, Great Britain, Brazil, Ecuador, Egypt, India, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Pakistan, Morocco, Sweden, Turkey, and Uganda. In countries not submitting reports to the UN, the practice was condoned under the rule of the fundamentalist Taliban government in Afghanistan, and has been reported in Iraq and Iran."

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/02/0212_020212_honorkilling.html

"Every year, hundreds of women and girls are murdered in the Middle East by male family members. The honor killing-the execution of a female family member for perceived misuse of her sexuality-is a thorny social and political issue. Palestinian activists campaigning for equality find it difficult to stop the killings altogether. Legitimacy for such murders stems from a complex code of honor ingrained in the consciousness of some sectors of Palestinian society."

http://www.merip.org/mer/mer206/ruggi.htm

Friday June 5, 2009, 2:59 am
Rape and murder of men, women and children should not be tolerated no matter who the perpetrator is whether American , Iraqi, Israeli or Palestinian or whether Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhists or Pagan. Each rapists or murderer should be punished with the severest and harshest punishment allowed in these times. No excuse justifies their disgusting behaviour of murdering and raping.

Friday June 5, 2009, 3:59 am
Lindsey O - people who practice honor killings are breaking the sacred commandments of God and fortunately there will cum a time where they will have to answer for these injustices they have practised against women. We hav to pray that GOD Almighty guides these people to the correct path of TRUTH and make them STOP such astrocities against any HUMAN BEING.