Non-Subscriber Extract
Civilian contractor faces US court martial in test case
20 May 2008
In a crucial test of wartime contractor oversight, the US military is preparing to try a civilian before a court martial in Iraq.
On 11 May Multi-National Corps - Iraq (MNC-I) said that MNC-I commander Lieutenant General Lloyd Austin had referred Alaa 'Alex' Mohammad Ali to a general court martial.
Ali, described in press reports as a dual Iraqi-Canadian citizen, was charged with aggravated assault in connection with an alleged 23 February incident involving the stabbing of another contractor at a combat outpost near Hit, Iraq. He has been held in confinement at a military base in Baghdad since late February; a pre-trial hearing was held at Camp Liberty, Iraq, in April.
A statement issued by the coalition said Ali would be "afforded all the same rights, protections and privileges service members receive in military court, including the right to counsel, right to speedy trial, protection against self-incrimination and presumption of innocence".