Two U.S. Army Soldiers Charged Conspiracy In Iraqi Detainee Murders

November 20, 2008 10:19 p.m. EST

Vilseck, Germany (AHN) - The U.S. Army has ordered the court-martial for two soldiers charged with conspiracy to commit premeditated murder following the deaths of four Iraqi prisoners last year.

Officials at Rose Barracks, a U.S. Army base in Vilseck, Germany, said Thursday Staff Sgt. Jess Cunningham, 27, and Sgt. Charles Quigley, 28, will face the military court as they and two other fellow American soldiers were suspected of shooting instead of detaining the Iraqi detainees near Baghdad between March 10 and April 16 of last year.

The other soldiers, Spc. Stephen Ribordy and Spc. Belmor Ramos, pleaded guilty to charges of being an accessory to murder and conspiracy to murder last month. Both were sentenced to eight and seven months in prison, respectively, before being discharged from the army.