“Currently, 20 Recruit Training Regiment personnel have been identified for possible military justice or administrative action”, according to a statement from Marine Corps Headquarters released Thursday afternoon.
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Raheel Siddiqui, 20, died after falling almost 40 feet in a stairwell at the Marine training depot in SC.
Three different military investigations found “allegations of recurrent physical and verbal abuse …” Siddiqui was Muslim and of Pakistani descent.
The Marine officials, who were not named by the Free Press because the investigation report hasn’t been made public, said Siddiqui had theatened suicide days before his death, but was still required to report for training.
The drill instructor was suspended and returned to duties before Siddiqui arrived in March. Officials say Siddiqui had fallen asleep and when he was awakened by a drill instructor, he “ran out the back hatch of the squad bay and jumped over the ladderwell wall … falling three stories before landing on the ground”.
His death was ruled a suicide, but it was reported severe verbal and physical abuse from drill instructors may have played a part. After he was slapped, the recruit ran out a door and vaulted over a railing on the third floor of the barracks, the report said. Yet he threatened to kill himself within a week of his arrival on Parris Island as part of the 3rd Recruit Training Battalion. Twenty people within the unit could be punished for their participation in creating a toxic work environment which regularly ignored hazing and condoned poor leadership practices.
And although the command-level investigation concluded Siddiqui’s death was, in fact, a suicide, the investigation still revealed a number of disturbing allegations.
The Marine Corps said Thursday that Siddiqui committed suicide in March and that a culture of hazing and abuse existed in his unit.
Siddiqui’s death prompted firings and suspensions at the base, as well as an overhaul of procedures.
The investigations were prompted by the death earlier this year of Raheel Siddiqui of Taylor, Michigan.
U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Dearborn, released a statement also saying she had met Thursday with Marine Corps Commandant General Robert Neller and learned that 20 personnel could face court proceedings or administrative action.
“We mourn the loss of Recruit Siddiqui”, he continued, “and we will take every step necessary to prevent tragic events like this from happening again”.
“Today’s announcement.is a first step in ensuring the family of Private Raheel Siddiqui receives the answers they deserve and that the Marine Corps is addressing the serious issues that led to this tragedy”, said Dingell, who had been pressing the Corps for answers following Siddiqui’s death on March 18 after he fell 40 feet in a barracks stairwell. He allegedly forced the recruit into a clothes dryer in the laundry room and accused the recruit of participating in the 9/11 terrorist attacks, before switching on the machine.
The probe also found, along with alleged physically violence, a drill sergeant also subjected Siddiqui to mental abuse by referring to him as a “terrorist”.
“When America’s men and women commit to becoming Marines, we make a promise to them”, he said.
“This is the very least the Siddiqui family – and the thousands of families across our country whose children serve in uniform -deserve”.
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“As a young Muslim man, he truly understood the value of freedom of religion and all he wanted was to defend the ideals our nation holds dear”, Dingell said in a statement. We pledge to train them with firmness, fairness, dignity and compassion.
