An Afghanistan man has been given a 7-1/2 year prison sentence for murdering three U.S. Marines in a forward operating base in Helmand Province in August 2012.
The Afghan justice system decided to treat Ainuddin Khudairaham as a juvenile, under age 18. The family of one victim says they were told he was first deemed to be an adult and thus subject to the death penalty.
Khudairaham, an aide to a local police chief who worked at the FOB, went to the base gymnasium and opened fire with an Ak-47 rifle. He later proclaimed he had joined jihad, according to attorney Michael J. Bowe.
He represents the family of Lance Corp. Gregory T. Buckley Jr.. Also killed were Cpl. Richard A. Rivera Jr. and Staff Sgt. Scott E. Dickinson.
The Marine Corps released information about the prosecution on Friday after The Washington Times made inquiries.
Mr. Bowe sent a letter to the Marine Corps this week asserting that the military first told the Buckley family that the assailant was an adult.
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“Since then, the Buckley family has relied on that information to sustain their hope that justice could be secured in Afghanistan, and in coping with the very questionable decision not to prosecute this murderer in the United States,” Mr. Bowe wrote.
He told The Times classifying the defendant as a juvenile “was devastating to the Buckleys because we believe he is not a juvenile.”
• Rowan Scarborough can be reached at rscarborough@washingtontimes.com.
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