**The court martial of a US Navy officer accused of helping cover up an attack on an Iraqi suspected of killing four Blackwater guards in 2004 has begun.**The officer has pleaded not guilty to charges he failed to safeguard prisoner Ahmed Hashim Abed, who it is claimed was attacked by a colleague last year.
Petty Officer Julio Huertas denies helping to cover up the incident.
Another two officers will also face trial. From the navy’s special forces, they are widely supported in the US.
US Sailor Petty Officer 3rd class Kevin Demartino told the court on Wednesday he saw Navy Seal PO Matthew McCabe punch Mr Abed last September.
Mr Demartino said PO Huertas was in the room at the time of the assault and later tried to get him to help them cover up the incident.
Burned bodies
Mr Abed was arrested in September of last year and is accused of masterminding the killing of four Blackwater private security guards in Baghdad.
Their bodies were dragged through the streets, burned and hung up on a bridge where they were photographed by the news media.
PO McCabe will go on trial in May.
At least 20 members of the US Congress have lobbied Defence Secretary Robert Gates to have the case dropped.
PO Huertas and a third officer, PO Jonathan Keefe, are being tried in Iraq, as Mr Abed cannot leave Iraq.
The three are reported to have opted for a military hearing instead of an official reprimand in an attempt to clear their names.
PO Huertas faces a year in jail if found guilty.
The US security firm Blackwater is at the centre of controversy surrounding the “outsourcing” of war, where private contractors are taking on tasks usually carried out by government soldiers.This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
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