The Army Court Stays Proceedings Murder Of A Soldier

A military appeals court has ordered prosecutors to the military to stop the proceedings against one of five U.S. soldiers accused of killing unarmed civilians in Afghanistan and held to appear as soldiers injured combat.

The lawyers of Private Andrew Holmes had asked the Court of Criminal Appeals Army asking that sealed photographic documentation they can identify inflammatory, but says will exonerate their client will be open to the public.

They also asked the Court to extend the investigation procedures of Article 32 against Holmes, 20, of Boise, Idaho, until a decision is reached on the images. Court of Appeals gave the stay Friday and gave the government 20 days to respond to messages of Holmes's legal team. Defense lawyers who have received notice of the order on Saturday, would be 14 days after that to respond.

Holmes is the youngest of five soldiers accused of murder in the investigation of what prosecutors described as an infantry platoon of military thugs uproar earlier this year in the Afghan province of Kandahar, a Taliban stronghold. Seven other members of his unit, part of what was then the fifth striker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, compared with less costs in the case, which began as a probe of hashish and soldiers.

"Research in the indictment became most serious of alleged atrocities by U.S. troops in nearly nine years of conflict in Afghanistan. Some of the defendants, including Holmes, are suspected of having picked up the fingers and other body parts removed from Afghans killed as war trophies .

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The inflammatory nature of the images has drawn comparisons with photos taken of Iraqi prisoners by U.S. soldiers at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq in 2004 which sparked outrage around the world. Holmes civilian lawyers argued that the decision of the army to seal the files.

Preventing them from appearing in open court, effectively denying Holmes's constitutional right to a public trial, because the defenders can not cons-examine military investigators about the pictures. His lawyers say five to 10 images at issue in the case of Holmes is unclassified.

The government has "a legitimate interest not to excite the people of Afghanistan, but the answer is if it is a legitimate concern, dismiss the charges. Do not deny the basic rights of our client," the New Hampshire-based defense lawyer Gary Myers told Reuters by telephone. "We love our country but we must defend our client here," said co-defense lawyer Dan Conway.