US soldier gets only 45 days in jail and fine for forcing Iraqis off bridge

US Army 1st Lt. Jack Saville pleaded guilty to "assault" at a court at Fort Hood, Texas, for ordering subordinates to push two Iraqis (Zaidoun Fadel Hassoun, 19 and his cousin, Marwan Fadel Hassoun, 21), into the Tigris River from a bridge on Jan. 3, 2004 in Iraq. He was also convicted of lesser assault in a separate incident in December 2003.

US Army prosecutors said Zaidoun was found dead after falling from the bridge near Samarra, 60 miles (about 96 kilometers) north of Baghdad, and Marwan left the river without injuries. The two Iraqis were detained for violating a curfew.

Saville could have faced nearly two years in prison based on a plea agreement with prosecutors. He got 45 days instead and was ordered to forfeit 2,000 dollars of his military salary per month for six months.

Sgt. 1st Class Tracy Perkins, the co-defendant in the Tigris River incident, was sentenced to six months in prison. Defense attorneys contended that the prosecutors could not prove a homicide, saying there was no body, no death and no crime.