US soldier gets five years in Afghan misconduct probe

A US Army sergeant was sentenced yesterday to five years in prison for crimes that included beating a subordinate whose whistle-blowing led to an investigation of rogue soldiers murdering unarmed Afghan civilians.

Staff Sergeant David Bram was found guilty by court-martial of most of the charges against him, becoming the 11th soldier convicted in connection with the widest-ranging prosecution of US military atrocities and other misconduct during 10 years of war in Afghanistan.

The jury panel consisting of two officers and three enlisted men deliberated for 90 minutes before rendering its guilty verdict on all but two of the nine counts against Bram. It took the panel a further hour to decide his sentence.

Addressing the court before sentencing, Bram apologized to "the people of Afghanistan" and said, "I pray I have not deterred any young Americans from serving their nation.

"I truly do understand the weight of what I've done," he added, choking back tears. "I understand I must be punished for my actions. I ask for mercy, not for myself but for my beautiful children."

Bram, 27, the father of a young son and daughter, will be eligible for parole after serving about three years and four months of his five-year sentence. Prosecutors had recommended a prison term of seven years.

He was acquitted of charges he mistreated a detainee while on patrol last year in Afghanistan's Kandahar province and that he planted evidence near the body of an Afghan casualty.

But he was found guilty of solicitation to commit murder, two counts of conspiracy to commit assault and trying to impede an investigation.

He was also convicted of taking part with several soldiers in the May 2010 beating of Army Private Justin Stoner, an informant whose report of rampant hashish use in their platoon led Army investigators to uncover other crimes, including unprovoked killings of innocent villagers.

Pentagon officials have said misconduct exposed by the case had damaged the image of the United States around the globe.

Photographs entered as evidence in the investigation showed some of the soldiers casually posing with bloodied Afghan corpses, drawing comparisons to the 2004 Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal in Iraq.

Five members of the infantry unit formerly known as the 5th Stryker Brigade ultimately were charged with premeditated murder in the killing of Afghan villagers in random slayings staged to look like legitimate combat engagements.

The accused ringleader, Staff Sergeant Calvin Gibbs, was convicted by court-martial last week of murdering three unarmed civilians, drawing an automatic life prison sentence. He will be eligible for parole in 8 1/2 years.

His onetime right-hand-man turned chief accuser, Army Specialist Jeremy Morlock, was sentenced in March to 24 years in prison after pleading guilty to the same three murders. He also was one of several soldiers to testify against Bram.

A third soldier charged with murder, Adam Winfield, pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of manslaughter and was sentenced to three years in prison. A fourth, Andrew Holmes, was sentenced to seven years after pleading guilty to a single count of murder. The fifth, Michael Wagnon, still faces court-martial. REUTERS