Ex-POW who was held in Afghanistan to face US court-martial

Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl, the US soldier who was held by Taliban-linked insurgents for five years before being freed in a swap for five Guantanamo Bay detainees, will face a court-martial for desertion, the Army said Monday.

Bergdahl's case has generated massive controversy in the United States after it emerged he walked out of his unit willingly, prompting a massive manhunt, and because of the circumstances of his release.

In a statement, the Army said Bergdahl will stand trial on two charges: desertion with intent to shirk important or hazardous duty; and misbehavior before the enemy by endangering the safety of a command, unit or place.

The charges were referred to court-martial after a preliminary hearing to find probable cause, known as an Article 32 hearing.

Bergdahl, 29, faces up to life in prison if convicted.

The only American in uniform to be held by insurgents in the Afghanistan war, Bergdahl was captured by Taliban-linked Haqqani militants after he left his base in eastern Afghanistan near the Pakistani border in June 2009.

He was released in May 2014 in a controversial swap for the five Taliban detainees.

Attorney Eugene Fidell told AFP the referred charges went way beyond the scope of any evidence presented during the initial hearing.

"I thought that the Article 32 proceeding had shown probable cause for a one-day AWOL (unauthorized leave) and that was it," he said.

Bergdahl's case and the prisoner swap have become a lightning rod for opponents of President Barack Obama who say he released dangerous extremists who posed a threat to Americans.

Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump has previously gone so far as to call Bergdahl a "dirty, rotten traitor" and suggested he merited execution.

In a statement, Fidell said such remarks were defamatory and would taint any prospective jury pool.

"We again ask that Donald Trump cease his prejudicial months-long campaign of defamation against our client," Fidell said.
Source: AFP