Mahmudiyah rape and killings

Mahmudiyah rape and killings
Part of the Iraq War
Mahmudiyah rape and killings is located in Iraq
Mahmudiyah rape and killings
LocationYusufiyah, Baghdad Governorate, Iraq
Coordinates33°04′N 44°13′E / 33.06°N 44.22°E / 33.06; 44.22
DateMarch 12, 2006; 18 years ago (2006-03-12)
TargetAbeer Qassim Hamza al-Janabi
Attack type
War rape
Mass murder
War crime
Deaths4
PerpetratorsFour U.S. Army soldiers from Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault)
  • Steven Dale Green
  • James P. Barker
  • Paul E. Cortez
  • Jesse V. Spielman (as a lookout)

The Mahmudiyah rape and killings were a series of war crimes committed by five U.S. Army soldiers during the U.S. occupation of Iraq, involving the gang-rape and murder of 14-year-old Iraqi girl Abeer Qassim Hamza al-Janabi and the murder of her family on March 12, 2006. It occurred in the family's house to the southwest of Yusufiyah, a village to the west of the town of Al-Mahmudiyah, Iraq. Other members of al-Janabi's family murdered by American soldiers included her 34-year-old mother Fakhriyah Taha Muhasen, 45-year-old father Qassim Hamza Raheem, and 6-year-old sister Hadeel Qassim Hamza al-Janabi.[1] The two remaining survivors of the family, 9-year-old brother Ahmed and 11-year-old brother Mohammed, were at school during the massacre and orphaned by the event.

Five U.S. Army soldiers of the 502nd Infantry Regiment were charged with rape and murder: Specialist Paul E. Cortez (born December 1982), Specialist James P. Barker (born 1982), Private First Class Jesse V. Spielman (born 1985), Private First Class Bryan L. Howard, and Private First Class Steven Dale Green (May 2, 1985 – February 17, 2014).[2] Green was discharged from the U.S. Army for mental instability before the crimes were known by his command, whereas Cortez, Barker, and Spielman were tried by a military court martial, convicted, and sentenced to decades in prison.[2] Green was tried and convicted in a United States civilian court and sentenced to life in prison.[3] He died in 2014 from suicide.

  1. ^ "Soldier: 'Death walk' drives troops 'nuts'". CNN.com. Aug 8, 2006. Archived from the original on 2012-10-18. Retrieved 2012-11-06.
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "US ex-soldier guilty of Iraq rape". BBC News. 2009-05-07. Archived from the original on 2009-05-09. Retrieved 2009-05-08.