(JACKSONVILLE, FL) — A Lebanese-American Marine who vanished from his post in Iraq 10 years ago and was later found in Lebanon is facing trial for charges of desertion, larceny and destruction of government property.
Corporal Wassef Hassoun, who entered a guilty please for disappearing on an unauthorized absence, chose to have his case decided by a military judge instead of a jury.
Hassoun, a 35-year-old native of Lebanon and naturalized American citizen, disappeared from a base in Fallujah, Iraq in June 2004. He was later found unharmed at the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, where he claimed to have been kidnapped.
Officials were suspicious and brought him to Camp Lejeune, where the military considered charging him.
But before charges were filed, Hassoun fled to Lebanon a second time in 2005 where he stayed for 8 years until Lebanese authorities arrested him.
He entered Lebanese court for a short period, before turning himself in to American authorities.
Hassoun enlisted in the Marine Corps in January 2002 and served as an Arabic translator in Iraq, where he reportedly made incriminating comments to witnesses, including that Hassoun wanted to leave the Marines, according to the prosecutor.
Defense attorneys say that Hassoun was kidnapped by insurgents in 2004 and later became tangled up in Lebanese courts. But prosecutors allege Hassoun fled his post because he was angry with his deployment and the treatment of Iraqis by American troops.
Hassoun faces a maximum sentence of 27 years in prison if convicted of all charges, prosecutors said.