WASHINGTON-U.S. Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl, who was held by Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan for five years before being freed in a prisoner swap, appeared before a military judge Tuesday on charges he deserted and misbehaved before the enemy.
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Bergdahl deferred entering a plea until his next court date on January 12th.
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Bergdahl, who was wearing his dark blue US Army dress uniform and medals, was briefed on his rights and replied with a soft “Yes sir” when asked whether he understood. Yet General Robert Abrams, head of the US Army Forces Command, eventually referred Bergdahl’s case to a general court-marital. The desertion charge carries a possible five year sentence. On the night of June 30, 2009, he went missing from his base, and days later authorities determined he had been captured by Taliban militants. The Pentagon’s inspector general on December 9, 2015, has told a House panel investigating the five Taliban Guantanamo Bay detainees released in exchange for Bergdahl that it found no evidence that a ransom was ever attempted or paid to secure the soldier’s release. The move touched off a firestorm of criticism, with some in Congress accusing President Barack Obama of jeopardizing the safety of a nation with the exchange.
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The case was also considered inherently hard to prosecute, partly because of the still murky nature of Bergdahl’s intentions and state of mind in leaving in his base in Afghanistan, and because of the years between the alleged crimes and an actual court martial.
During a preliminary hearing in September, a presiding officer in the case recommended that Bergdahl be tried before a special court-martial rather than a general court-martial; the latter usually ends in more severe sentences.
Legal databases and media accounts turn up only a few misbehaviour cases since 2001, when fighting began in Afghanistan, followed by Iraq less than two years later.
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FILE – This undated file image provided by the U.S. Army shows Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl.
