WASHINGTON, May 14 (UPI) -- Capt. James Clement, involved in a video of troops urinating on Taliban corpses, will face a special court-martial, the U.S. Marine Corps said.
The only officer to face charges in connection with the video, which was shot in Afghanistan in July 2011 and seen in January 2012 on YouTube, Clement refused a military non-judicial punishment recommended in an April hearing, and will be tried for dereliction of duty and other related offenses, a Marine Corps press release said.
A team of enlisted scout snipers filmed themselves urinating on the bodies of dead Taliban fighters, and the resulting backlash, when it was seen on the Internet, embarrassed senior leadership and prompted officers to remind troops of ethical conduct, the Marine Corps Times reported Tuesday.
In a statement at the hearing, called an Article 32 hearing, Clement wrote he was not aware of the video, or the desecration, until it became public.
