Former US soldier Private Steven D Green’s attorneys have filed a motion in the Louisville, Kentucky federal court calling for a gag order in the case involving Green and four serving soldiers of raping, murdering a 14-year-old Iraqi girl and then killing her family. A fifth soldier has been charged with dereliction of duty for not reporting the crime but has not been accused of participating. While Green is being tried in a civilian court, as he is a former soldier and had been honorably discharged from the army, the others face trial under the Uniform Code of Military Justice.



The gag order, besides going all the way up to President George Walker Bush, includes Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Peter Pace, their employees, participants in the trial, attorneys, investigators and members of the civilian and military enforcement.The court papers cited Mr Bush’s interview in which he called the alleged incident as a despicable crime and a stain on the honorable image on the United States military. General Pace was quoted as saying that the alleged incident was totally unacceptable.



According to the motion, this case had received prominent and at times sensational coverage in all media, whether it is print, electronic or internet across the world. This had aroused public passions to an extent that it presented a clear and imminent danger to fair administration of justice, the motion added.



According to a Justice Department affidavit, it was a premeditated rape and murder. Green’s attorneys asked the authorities to properly preserve and maintain the evidence. Prosecutors have until July 25 to file a response to the request.



A video posted on Islamic websites purportedly shows the bodies of two US soldiers kidnapped and murdered last month to avenge the rape and murder of the Iraqi girl. The soldiers belonged to Green’s brigade. The US military has condemned the video.



Via: CNN