"Kill Team" Leader on Trial for Afghan Deaths

Calvin Gibbs is being tried in Washington state for what have been called "some of the most serious allegations of atrocities committed by US soldiers in Afghanistan." Gibbs has been accused of leading a "kill team" including four other U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan between January and March of 2010. The men allegedly murdered Afghan civilians with the intent of keeping their remains as "trophies," and in March 2011, pictures were published of the men posing with bodies of citizens they had killed. Gibbs was also found in possession of bones and teeth taken from the bodies.

Three of the men have plead guilty in order to receive reduced sentences, but Gibbs' lawyer, Phillip Stackhouse, claims that Gibbs was not responsible for the murders, defending his client on the basis that the evidence is unreliable. In addition to the murders, there was also alleged marijuana use within the unit. Stackhouse has asserted that the court should not trust testimony from "these dope-smoking soldiers in a combat zone. Who are you going to believe, where does the credibility lay?" Gibbs has also been accused of beating a soldier who reported the drug use to his superiors. The trial proceedings begin today and are expected to last about a week, with around 30 witnesses testifying.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-15499132

Maci Mitchell