Mahmudiyah rape and killings

Five U.S. Army soldiers of the 502nd Infantry Regiment were charged with rape and murder: Specialist Paul E. Cortez (born December 1982), Specialist James P. Barker (born 1982), Private First Class Jesse V. Spielman (born 1985), Private First Class Bryan L. Howard, and Private First Class Steven Dale Green (May 2, 1985 – February 17, 2014).

Green was discharged from the U.S. Army for mental instability before the crimes were known by his command, whereas Cortez, Barker, and Spielman were tried by a military court martial, convicted, and sentenced to decades in prison.

Green was tried and convicted in a United States civilian court and sentenced to life in prison.

Abeer Qassim Hamza al-Janabi (عبير قاسم حمزة الجنابي ‘Abīr Qāssim Ḥamza al-Janābī; 19 August 1991 – 12 March 2006), lived with her mother and father (Fakhriya Taha Muhasen, 34, and Qassim Hamza Raheem, 45, respectively) and her three siblings: 6-year-old sister Hadeel, 9-year-old brother Ahmed, and 11-year-old brother Mohammed.

Of modest means, Abeer's family lived in a rental one-bedroom house in the village of Yusufiyah, which lies west of the larger township of Al-Mahmudiyah, Iraq.

According to her neighbours, at the time of the massacre, Abeer spent most of her days at home, as her parents would not allow her to go to school because of security concerns.

Her relatives describe her as tall for her age and thin, but not "eye-catchingly beautiful", and more generally as an "ordinary girl".

Reportedly, before the incident Abeer had endured repeated sexual harassment from U.S. soldiers.

Abeer's home was situated approximately 200 meters (220 yards) from a six-man U.S. traffic checkpoint, southwest of the village.

Soldiers were said to often watch Abeer doing her chores and tending the garden, as her home is visible from the checkpoint.

A neighbour had warned Abeer's father about this behavior beforehand, but he replied that it was not a problem as she was just a young girl.

Abeer's brother Mohammed (who along with his younger brother was at school at the time of the murders and thus survived) recalls that the soldiers often searched the house.

On one such occasion, Private First Class Steven D. Green ran his index finger down Abeer's cheek, an action which had terrified her.

Abeer's mother told her relatives before the murders that, whenever she caught the soldiers staring at Abeer, they would give her the thumbs-up sign, point to her daughter and say, "Very good, very good."

Evidently this had concerned her and she made plans for Abeer to spend nights sleeping at her uncle's (Ahmad Qassim's) house.

In an interview before his arrest, Steven Green told The Washington Post "I came over here because I wanted to kill people. The truth is, it wasn't all I thought it was cracked up to be. I mean, I thought killing somebody would be this life-changing experience. And then I did it, and I was like, 'All right, whatever.' I shot a guy who wouldn't stop when we were out at a traffic checkpoint and it was like nothing. Over here, killing people is like squashing an ant. I mean, you kill somebody and it's like 'All right, let's go get some pizza.'"

James Barker's parents divorced when he was a child since he and his siblings were abused.

His mother, Roselia Barker, said her husband hit James With a belt and sticks, pulled his hair, and put him down verbally.

While Barker was in high school, his father died at the age of 73 in October 1998.

James visited his father in the hospital while he was dying.

The Mahmudiyah rape and killings were a series of war crimes committed by five U.S. Army soldiers during the U.S. occupation of Iraq, involving the gang-rape and murder of 14-year-old Iraqi girl Abeer Qassim Hamza al-Janabi and the murder of her family on March 12, 2006.

It occurred in the family's house to the southwest of Yusufiyah, a village to the west of the town of Al-Mahmudiyah, Iraq.

Other members of al-Janabi's family murdered by American soldiers included her 34-year-old mother Fakhriyah Taha Muhasen, 45-year-old father Qassim Hamza Raheem, and 6-year-old sister Hadeel Qassim Hamza al-Janabi.

The two remaining survivors of the family, 9-year-old brother Ahmed and 11-year-old brother Mohammed, were at school during the massacre and orphaned by the event.

On March 12, 2006, soldiers at the checkpoint (from the 502nd Infantry Regiment) – consisting of Green, Specialist Paul E. Cortez, Specialist James P. Barker, Private First Class Jesse V. Spielman, and Private First Class Bryan L. Howard – had been playing cards, illegally drinking alcohol (whiskey mixed with an energy drink), hitting golf balls, and discussing plans to rape Abeer and "kill some Iraqis."

Green was very persistent about "killing some Iraqis" and kept bringing up the idea.

At some point, the group decided to go to Abeer's home, after they had seen her passing by their checkpoint earlier.

The four soldiers of the six-man unit responsible for the checkpoint – Barker, Cortez, Green, and Spielman – then left their posts for Abeer's home.

Two men, Howard and another soldier, remained at the post.

Howard had not been involved in discussions to rape and murder the family, but reportedly heard the four men talking about it and saw them leave.

The sixth soldier at the checkpoint had no involvement.

On the day of the massacre, Abeer's father Qassim was enjoying time with his family, while his sons were at school.

In broad daylight, the four U.S. soldiers walked to the house, not wearing their uniforms, but wearing army-issue long underwear — reportedly to look like "ninjas" — and separated 14-year-old Abeer and her family into two different rooms.

Spielman was responsible for grabbing Abeer's 6-year-old sister, who was outside the house with her father, and bringing her inside the house.

Green then broke Abeer's mother's arms (likely resulting from a struggle that began when she heard her daughter being raped in the other room) and murdered her parents and younger sister, while two other soldiers, Cortez and Barker, raped Abeer.

Barker wrote that Cortez pushed Abeer to the floor, lifted her dress, and tore off her underwear while she struggled.

According to Cortez, Abeer "kept squirming and trying to keep her legs closed and saying stuff in Arabic," as he and Barker took turns holding her down and raping her.

Cortez testified that Abeer heard the gunshots in the room in which her parents and little sister were being held, causing her to scream and cry even more.

Green then emerged from the room saying, "I just killed them, all are dead."

He died in 2014 from suicide.