Trial set for Marine in Haditha killing case

CAMP PENDLETON (Reuters) - The U.S. Marine accused of leading his unit in killing 24 unarmed Iraqi civilians in Haditha in 2005 was arraigned on voluntary manslaughter charges on Wednesday and a military judge set his court-martial for February.

During a brief hearing at the Camp Pendleton Marine base in Southern California, Staff Sgt Frank Wuterich was ordered to face court-martial on February 25, in keeping with a demand by his defense attorneys for a speedy trial.

Wuterich did not enter a plea to the charges of voluntary manslaughter, aggravated assault, reckless endangerment, dereliction of duty and obstruction of justice. More serious murder charges against the squad leader were dismissed in December.

"This is a significant legal moment," the military judge, Lt. Col. Jeffrey Meeks, told Wuterich after arraigning him and issuing a standard warning that the case would proceed even if he failed to show up for further hearings.

Meeks set further pretrial hearings for February 13 and February 20, when prosecutors and defense attorneys were expected to spar over evidentiary motions.

Wuterich is one of eight Marines originally charged in the November 19, 2005 killing of 24 men, women and children at Haditha, an incident that triggered international condemnation of U.S. forces.

Iraqi witnesses say angry Marines massacred unarmed civilians after a popular comrade was killed by a roadside bomb, while defense attorneys argue that the civilians died during a pitched battle with insurgents.

Wuterich, a married father of three who was serving his second tour of duty in Iraq at the time of the incident, told a court in September that he regretted the deaths but had acted properly to keep his men alive.

During Wednesday's hearing a military prosecutor told Meeks that he intended to call as witnesses experts in the fields of bloodstain pattern analysis, wound analysis and scene reconstruction, along with two forensic pathologists.

Maj. Daren Erickson said prosecutors were also working to bring Iraqi witnesses to California although "they have indicated up to this point that they are not willing to travel to the U.S."

Wuterich's attorneys said they would also call expert witnesses but not a psychologist, assuring Meeks that the squad leader would not be asserting what the judge called a "mental responsibility defense."

Prosecutors have dropped charges against four of the eight Marines originally charged in the case. Aside from Wuterich, three other Marines have been ordered to face court-martial.

(Editing by Stuart Grudgings)