A U.S. Marine Corps drill instructor was sentenced to 10 years in prison for abusing more than a dozen Muslim recruits, one of whom died in 2016. However, his sentence could be reduced if the military appeal is successful which will opt for a dishonourable discharge and a reduced sentence.
Gunnery Sergeant Joseph Felix was convicted a day earlier of maltreatment of the recruits during their basic training at the Parris Island, South Carolina base.
A jury of eight fellow servicemen and women considered Felix liable. And although he was part of a group of six instructors who ordered and participated in extreme hazing of the recruits and taunting them as terrorists, Gunnery Sergeant Felix was the one to blame.
An almost torture like regime of recruits included being forced into industrial-sized clothes dryers and in some cases the machine was turned on when they did not renounce their faith.
One of the recruits, Raheel Siddiqui died after a ‘suspicious fall’ from a three-story building in March 2016. This was after Raheel endured several days of torture more intense than normal recruits.
The Marines called his death a suicide. In October, Siddiqui’s family sued the Marines for $100 million, saying he was driven by an unnamed superior through a door and onto a balcony where he fell to the ground below.
The sentence decided Friday, which also includes a dishonourable discharge, was harsher than the seven years in prison that prosecutors had recommended.
The case will automatically go to appeal per military regulations for judgements that involve lengthy prison sentences and dishonourable discharges.
No Comments
So they were charged with torture but not with trying to force people to renounce their faith. Typical.
You would think freedom of religion would be protected and honoured. Religion and colour should not make an impact on a job, let alone the marines.