Mahmudiyah rape and killings

Green challenged his convictions, claiming that the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act is unconstitutional and that he should face a military trial. Green lost his appeal in August 2011.

Watt, the whistleblower, received a medical discharge and is now running a computer business. He says that he received death threats after coming forward; however, starting in 2010, he was asked by the US Army Center for the Army Profession and Ethic (CAPE) at West Point, New York, to be interviewed and speak before Army Profession audiences about his decision to report the crimes in accordance with his moral obligation to uphold the Army Ethic.

Opening arguments in Green's trial were heard on April 27, 2009. The prosecution rested its case on May 4. On May 7, 2009, Green was found guilty by the federal court in Kentucky of rape and multiple counts of murder. While prosecutors sought the death penalty in this case, jurors failed to agree unanimously and the death sentence could not be imposed. On September 4, Green was formally sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole. That Green was spared the death penalty provoked outrage from the family's relatives, with Abeer's uncle describing the sentence as "a crime -- almost worse than the soldier's crime". Green was held in the United States Penitentiary, Tucson, Arizona, and died on February 15, 2014, from complications following an attempt at suicide by hanging.

On January 22, 2007, Cortez pleaded guilty in a court martial to rape, conspiracy to rape, and four counts of murder as part of a plea deal to avoid a possible death sentence. During his sentencing hearing, his lawyers argued that he was under war-related stress. Cortez was sentenced to 100 years in prison with the possibility of parole after 10 years. He was also dishonorably discharged, demoted to the rank of Private, and ordered to forfeit all of his pay and allowances. Tears rolled down his face as he apologized for his roles in the murders. "I still don’t have an answer," Cortez told the judge. “I don’t know why. I wish I hadn’t. The lives of four innocent people were taken. I want to apologize for all of the pain and suffering I have caused the Al Janabi family." He is currently held in the United States Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.

On August 3, 2007, Spielman, 23, was sentenced by a court martial to 110 years in prison with the possibility of parole after 10 years. He was also dishonorably discharged, demoted to the rank of Private, and ordered to forfeit all of his pay and allowances. He was convicted of rape, conspiracy to commit rape, housebreaking with intent to rape, and four counts of felony murder. He initially pleaded guilty to conspiracy toward obstruction of justice, arson, wrongfully touching a corpse, and drinking. After the verdict, Spielman's grandmother fainted, while his sister, Paige Gerlach, screamed "I hate the government. You people put him there and now, this happened." Spielman is held in the United States Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.

The Mahmudiyah rape and killings were war crimes involving the gang-rape and murder of 14-year-old Iraqi girl Abeer Qassim Hamza al-Janabi and the murder of her family by United States Army soldiers 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. 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.

On March 12, 2006, soldiers at the checkpoint (from the 502nd Infantry Regiment) – consisting of Green, Specialist Paul E. Cortez, Specialist James P. Barker, Private First Class Jesse V. Spielman, and Private First Class Bryan L. Howard – had been playing cards, illegally drinking alcohol (whiskey mixed with an energy drink), hitting golf balls, and discussing plans to rape Abeer and "kill some Iraqis." Green was very persistent about "killing some Iraqis" and kept bringing up the idea. At some point, the group decided to go to Abeer's home, after they had seen her passing by their checkpoint earlier. The four soldiers of the six-man unit responsible for the checkpoint – Barker, Cortez, Green, and Spielman – then left their posts for Abeer's home. Two men, Howard and another soldier, remained at the post. Howard had not been involved in discussions to rape and murder the family. He heard the four men talking about it and saw them leave, but thought they were joking and were planning to beat up some Iraqi men to blow off some steam. The sixth soldier at the checkpoint had no involvement.

Iraqi soldiers arrived on scene shortly after the incident. Green and his accomplices lied to them that the massacre had been perpetrated by Sunni insurgents. These Iraqi soldiers conveyed this information to Abeer's uncle, who viewed the bodies. U.S. investigators concluded that Iraqi insurgents had murdered the al-Janabi family. This lie was conveyed up to high command. The truth about the massacre was successfully concealed. The murders were not widely reported since Iraq was dealing with widespread violence. Several soldiers, heard of or were told about the murders, but chose not to say anything. Anthony W. Yribe was among those who heard: Green admitted to him that day that he had killed them, then gave Yribe more details the following day. In May 2006, Green was honorably discharged after he was found to have a "personality disorder". That disorder turned out to be antisocial personality disorder.

On July 10, the Mujahideen Shura Council (now a part of the Islamic State) released a graphic video showing the bodies of PFCs. Tucker and Menchaca. This video was accompanied by a statement saying that the group carried out the killings as "revenge for our sister who was dishonored by a soldier of the same brigade." The Washington Post reports that Charles Babineau and two other individuals from the same unit were captured and killed by militants a month after the rape. Local Iraqi officials, and U.S. officials, denied the killing of the GIs was an act of retaliation, because the soldiers were killed days before the revelation leaked out that U.S. soldiers had committed the massacre in Mahmudiyah. At the time of Menchaca and Tucker's abduction on June 16, 2006, only the perpetrators of the rape and murder, and a few soldiers in their unit engaged in covering up the crime, knew it had been committed by U.S. soldiers. The truth behind the crime was revealed on June 20, and American responsibility only became "public knowledge" in Iraq on July 4, days after which the video by the Mujahideen Shura Council was released. Also, the abduction occurred on June 16, nine days after the targeted killing of the Shura Council's leader, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, on June 7.

Watt then talked to an officer in his platoon, Sergeant John Diem. Watt trusted Diem; he told him he knew a terrible crime had been committed and asked for his advice, knowing if he reported the crime he would be considered a traitor to his unit, and could possibly be killed by them. Diem told Watt to be cautious, but said he had a duty as an honorable soldier to report the crime to the proper authorities. The two men did not trust their chain of command to protect them if they reported a war crime. Around June 20, 2006, Watt opened up to Diem, who immediately reported the crime himself.

Green was arrested in North Carolina while traveling home from Arlington, Virginia, where he had attended the funeral of a soldier. On June 30, 2006, the FBI arrested Green, who was held without bond and transferred to Louisville, Kentucky. On July 3, federal prosecutors formally charged him with raping and murdering Abeer, and with murdering her parents and younger sister. On July 10, the U.S. Army charged four other active duty soldiers with the same crime. Yribe, was charged with failing to report the attack, but not with having participated in the massacre.

On July 6, 2006, Green entered a plea of not guilty through his public defenders. U.S. Magistrate Judge James Moyer set an arraignment date of August 8 in Paducah, Kentucky.

On November 15, 2006, Specialist Barker pleaded guilty to rape and murder as part of a plea agreement requiring him to give evidence against the other soldiers to avoid a possible death sentence. He told the judge "I hated Iraqis, your honor. They can smile at you, then shoot you in your face without even thinking about it."

James Barker's parents divorced when he was a child since he and his siblings were abused. His mother, Roselia Barker, said her husband hit James with a belt and sticks, pulled his hair, and put him down verbally. While Barker was in high school, his father died at the age of 73 in October 1998. James visited his father in the hospital while he was dying. James graduated from Fresno High School in 1997. James was described as an obedient son, but his mother kicked him out of the house for not having a job. He was married at one point but divorced his wife. James had two children with his wife and one child with his girlfriend.

Abeer Qassim Hamza al-Janabi (Arabic: عبير قاسم حمزة الجنابي ‘Abīr Qāssim Ḥamza al-Janābī; 19 August 1991 – 12 March 2006), lived with her mother and father (Fakhriya Taha Muhasen, 34, and Qassim Hamza Raheem, 45, respectively) and her three siblings: 6-year-old sister Hadeel, 9-year-old brother Ahmed, and 11-year-old brother Mohammed. Of modest means, Abeer's family lived in a one-bedroom house that they did not own, with borrowed furniture, in the village of Yusufiyah, which lies west of the larger township of Al-Mahmudiyah, Iraq. The family was very close. Her father, Qassim, worked as a guard at a date orchard. Abeer's mother, Fakhriya, was a stay-at-home mom. According to her brothers, little Hadeel, Abeer's 6-year-old sister, loved a sweet plant that grew in the yard, was playful but not very mischievous, and enjoyed playing hide and seek with them. Qassim doted on his family, hoping that he would one day be able to buy a home for them and that they would live and eat like everyone else. He also had a dream that his children would finish college. According to her neighbours, at the time of the massacre, Abeer spent most of her days at home, as her parents would not allow her to go to school because of security concerns. Having been born only months after the Gulf War, which devastated civilian infrastructure in Iraq, and living her entire life under sanctions, followed by the 2003 invasion and occupation of Iraq, Abeer had dreams as well, hoping to one day live "in the big city" (Baghdad). Her relatives describe her as proud.

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 15, 2014). Green was discharged from the U.S. Army for mental instability before the crimes were known by his command, whereas Cortez, Barker, Spielman and Howard were tried by a military court martial, convicted, and sentenced to decades in prison. Green was tried and convicted in a United States civilian court and was sentenced to life in prison. In 2014, he died from complications resulting from a suicide attempt.

The video from the Mujahideen Shura Council claimed that upon learning of the massacre, the group "kept their anger to themselves and didn't spread the news, but were determined to avenge their sister's honor". Locals may have been able to deduce the guilt of the U.S. soldiers from the nearby checkpoint, after the Americans and their Iraqi cohort unit provided the explanation, "Sunni extremists did this." A portion of locals served as auxiliary support for both for Al Qaeda in Iraq and the 1920 Revolution Brigades. Auxiliary support supplied material aid and performed a human intelligence support function. Relaying the accusation of the local MNC-I unit to the insurgents was a basic function of that support. The Sunni extremists were able to eliminate themselves as suspects and, having an already low opinion of the U.S. military, may have assumed the guilt of the 101st Airborne soldiers. A statement issued along with the video stated that, "God Almighty enabled them to capture two soldiers of the same brigade as this dirty crusader." Other militant groups also made various claims or statements announcing revenge campaigns after the killings were reported on July 4, when the U.S. investigation into the incident was announced.