Civilian Contractor Alleged to Have Assaulted Coworker to be Tried Under UCMJ

It has been revealed that a civilian contractor accompanying the Multinational Corps Iraq has been charged with aggravated assault under military law.^[1]

The contractor, Alaa Alex Mohammad Ali, was an interpreter and is the first contractor to be charged under a 2006 amendment to the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) - Section 552 of the National Defense Authorization Act of Fiscal Year 2007, according to MNC-I officials.^[2]

Ali is a dual citizen of both Canada and Iraq. He is alleged to have stabbed another contractor. Officials maintain that he is presumed to be innocent until, and unless, he is proven guilty. He is currently in confinement at Camp Victory, Iraq, where he has been since Feb. 29.^[3]

A pre-trial hearing has been scheduled for April 10. The hearing will be held according to Article 32 of the Uniform Military Code of Justice and is conducted like a civilian preliminary hearing and similar to a grand jury.^[4]

Over the course of the proceedings, a senior Army officer will listen to evidence and make findings and recommendations about the charge.^[5] The resulting report will be forwarded to the commanding general of Multinational Corps Iraq, Lt. Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III.^[6]

Ali will be entitled to all the same rights, protections and privileges service members receive in military court. Those rights include the right to counsel, the right to speedy trial, protection against self- incrimination, and presumption of innocence.^[7]

Ali moved to Canada from Iraq following the Persian Gulf War during Saddam Hussein’s crack down on Shiites. He was living there with his wife and three children until, hoping to assist in the rebuilding of his home country, he returned as a contractor.^[8]

The aforementioned amendment to the UCMJ amended 10 U.S.C. 802(a)(10) to include those persons serving with or accompanying an armed force in the field during the time of declared war or a contingency operation, as persons subject to the UCMJ.^[9] Therefore contracting personnel, such as Ali, are now subject to prosecution under the UCMJ.

Federal criminal defense attorney, Douglas McNabb has written extensively on legal issues arising in the area of national security law. Some of his work can be read here.

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[1] Michael R. Gordon, U.S. Military Charges Contractor in Iraq, International Herald Tribune, April 5, 2008 (available at http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/04/05/africa/contractor.php?page=1).
[2] Id.
[3] Id.
[4] Id.
[5] Id.
[6] Id.
[7] Id.
[8] Id.
[9] 10 U.S.C. § 802(a)(10).