JAG CENTRAL

Army SGT Hasan Akbar, Accused of "Fragging" (CNN)

From the AP (via ABC News):

Jury selection began under tight security Wednesday for the court-martial of a sergeant accused in the grenade attack that killed two U.S. military officers in Kuwait in the early days of the Iraq war.

Sgt. Hasan Akbar who struggled with guards before a pretrial hearing last week arrived shackled and surrounded by armed guards. Military police were posted at every entrance to the court building and a bomb-sniffing dog searched all spectators.

It is the first time since the Vietnam War that a soldier has been prosecuted on charges of murder or attempted murder of another soldier during wartime.

Akbar, 33, is charged with stealing grenades and using them and a firearm in a March 2003 attack on fellow members of the 101st Airborne Division at Camp Pennsylvania in Kuwait.

In early questioning, none of the 20 soldiers in the juror pool said they had a religious objection to the death penalty or had ever been on the jury in a murder trial. One acknowledged having served at Camp Pennsylvania.

Akbar has allegedly confessed more than once to the attack and could get the death penalty if convicted. He has said he was worried that United States forces would harm Muslims in the war, authorities said.

Akbar is charged with two counts of first-degree murder and three counts of attempted premeditated murder. Army Capt. Christopher Seifert, 27, and Air Force Maj. Gregory Stone, 40, were killed and 14 other soldiers were injured.

Akbar's lawyers planned to use an insanity or diminished capacity defense. They also say Akbar has sleep apnea and has had problems staying awake at pretrial hearings.

A jury of 12 is to be selected. Testimony is scheduled to start Monday.

The panel will be allowed to see photos of the dead officers, which the defense had opposed. They also will see passages from Akbar's personal diary dating back to 2003. Prosecutors asked to show passages dating from 1992, but the judge wouldn't allow it.

Defense lawyers have said Akbar lacked the mental clarity to plan the attack. A military doctor said last week after examining Akbar that the soldier was competent to stand trial and assist his lawyers.

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