JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD: A US Army sergeant facing life in prison for slaughtering 16 Afghan villagers came face-to-face with survivors for the first time at a sentencing hearing on Tuesday.
Robert Bales, 40, pleaded guilty in June to killing the villagers, nine of them children, in a deal brokered by his defence team to avoid the death penalty.
But seven survivors offered gut-wrenching testimony at the hearing that must decide if Bales will be allowed to seek parole after a minimum of 20 years behind bars or face the rest of his life in prison.
In emotional evidence to a panel of three officers and three senior soldiers, the survivors spoke of the devastating physical and emotional scars inflicted by Bales’ actions.
“I thought I was dreaming but when I woke up I heard screaming,” said 12-year-old Sadiquallah, who was shot in the ear and neck when Bales broke into his family’s home on the night of March 11, 2012, after decamping from his base in the Panjwayi district of southern Kandahar province following a drinking session.
The boy’s father, Mohammed Haji Naeem, 60, broke down in tears as he recounted the attack, which saw another of his sons shot dead.
Naeem said he saw Bales’ jump over a wall into his property and start firing. “This bastard stood right in front of me, I wanted to ask him what I had done, why would you shoot me?” said Naeem, who was shot in the neck and head.
“I have nerve damage and stutter since I was shot. I wasn’t weak but since this bastard shot at me I’m almost like nothing now,” said Naeem, who later left the witness stand in tears.
Another villager, Samiullua, 30, told of the traumatic impact that the murder of his mother had upon his family. “She was a good woman, like a mountain to us for support,” he said.
The villager’s son, Rafiulla, had been deeply scarred by the attack. “He wakes up at night with nightmares thinking Americans are chasing him,” Samiullua said.
“He has no life anymore since that incident. He wakes up running around yelling.”
Rafiulla, who was shot in both legs by Bales, told the hearing the family had been woken around midnight.
“We were sleeping, we heard some noise. He (Bales ran into the room and pointed his handgun at my sister’s head,” the 15-year-old said. His sister was shot but survived. “She was a very bright girl, everybody loved her. Now we’re all sad for her,” he said. Another child witness, Khan, saw his father killed. AFP
