Published 15:49 IST, November 21st 2019
US Navy could remove Edward Gallagher from SEALs over war crimes
A spokesperson for US special forces said that a committee of the US Navy SEAL officers will hold a meeting to decide the future of Edward Gallagher in SEALs.
- World News
- 2 min read
A spokesperson for US special forces Tamara Lawrence said, that a committee of the US Navy SEAL officers will hold a meeting in December to decide whether Edward Gallagher can stay as part of the unit. President Donald Trump recently restored the rank of the SEAL officer Edward Gallagher who was accused of various war crimes after his court-martial. The US Navy will again begin with the procedures to remove Edward Gallagher from his position as the elite officer of SEAL.
Accused of war crimes
Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher has been accused of several war crimes while he was deployed to Mosul in Iraq in 2017. A notice was served to Gallagher, along with three unidentified members of SEAL that the process of their evolution will commence and the committee will look at their performance throughout their service said, Tamara Lawrence. She added that the designated panel will report to US Navy special forces, Rear Admiral Collin Green, after whose recommendation the US Navy will take the final decision.
Restored back to rank by Trump
In the month of July, Gallagher was accused of stabbing the Islamic State fighter in the neck while he was in prison but was convicted of illegally posing with the corpse. The crime committed by Gallagher is given a maximum sentence of four months, but instead, he was demoted in pay and rank. However, last week Trump restored Gallagher back to his rank and at the same time absolved two officers of war crimes committed in Afghanistan. But Trump was criticized for his actions. The critics said that Trump undermined military justice and gave out a wrong message that war crimes will be tolerated. This was for the fourth time that Trump intervened in the matters of Navy SEAL's case.
The verdict of the three-week trial marked a major victory for Gallagher who otherwise would have face life imprisonment for the crimes he committed, accoeding to the report.
Updated 16:54 IST, November 21st 2019