US Marine spared jail in Haditha killlings

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2005, Haditha, Iraq.
24 civilians were killed in shooting and grenade attacks.
For survivors like Awis Fahmi, who has a constant reminder of what happened that day, they are looking for justice.
The killings were portrayed by Iraqi witnesses and military prosecutors as a massacre of unarmed civilians, carried out by US Marines in anger after a member of their unit was killed by a roadside bomb.
This man, US marine sergeant, Frank Wuterich was accused of leading the massacre in the city which at that time was a hotbed of insurgent activity.
In a military court on Tuesday he was sentenced to a demotion to the rank of private, the lowest rank in the service and spared jail time.
Earlier he pleaded guilty to a single count of dereliction of duty.
This was part of a deal with prosecutors where the more serious charges of involuntary manslaughter and aggravated assault were dismissed.
Wuterich, who could have faced a maximum penalty of three months in confinement, showed no emotion as a military judge pronounced his sentence.
His civilian attorney was clear on who was to blame.
(SOUNDBITE) NEAL PUCKETT, CO-DEFENSE ATTORNEY FOR WUTERICH, SAYING(English):
"If you want to look to who is responsible for this, if you think it's an injustice, you look to the prosecutors who prosecuted this case, Lieutenant Colonel Sullivan and Major Gannon. Because they made decisions, based on their own notions of what they thought happened, to let Marines who might have had to answer for some pretty tough questions themselves, they let them go.
Six of the eight Marines originally accused in the case had their charges dismissed by military judges.
A seventh was cleared of criminal wrongdoing.
And for those looking for answers and justice in Haditha?
(SOUNDBITE) NEAL PUCKETT, CO-DEFENSE ATTORNEY FOR WUTERICH, SAYING(English):
"So the answers that should have been produced by this investigation in these prosecutions, will never be known. So if there was justice to be found for the people of Haditha, that opportunity was squandered by prosecutorial decisions, based upon an inadequate investigation and a flawed investigation."
The squad leader has said he and his fellow Marines behaved honorably in extreme circumstances.
In a statement on Tuesday, he apologised to family members of those killed in Iraq.
Marie-Claire Fennessy, Reuters