A military jury Feb. 28 sentenced US Army First Lt. Michael Behenna to 25 years in prison after convicting him of the murder and assault of an Iraqi detainee. The 101st Airborne Division officer, who claimed he acted in self-defense by shooting the victim, could have received a life sentence in the proceedings at Kentucky's Fort Campbell. Staff Sgt. Hal Warner, who threw a grenade on the body of victim Ali Mansour Mohammed, initially thought to have been released by Coalition forces in May 2008, testified against Behenna after pleading guilty to assault, maltreatment of a subordinate and making a false statement. The judge will hear Behenna's arguments for mistrial, based on a claim that the prosecution withheld evidence. Behenna was acquitted on a charge of making a false statement.

Iraqi-born Dutch citizen Wesam al-Delaema pleaded guilty Feb. 26 in the US District Court for the District of Columbia to a charge of conspiracy to murder US nationals outside the United States. Al Delaema is the first alleged insurgent in the Iraq war to be tried in US federal court. As part of the plea arrangement al-Deleama admitted planting roadside bombs in the Iraq city of Fallujah and demonstrating on video how he planned to detonate those bombs to kill Americans. The agreement calls for a 25-year sentence to be served in the Netherlands, though the court will formally sentence al-Delaema April 15. The Netherlands, however, has discretion to change the length of the sentence.

Some US forces likely to remain in Iraq after President Barack Obama fulfills his pledge to "withdraw combat troops" would still have a combat role, unnamed Pentagon officials told the New York Times. Obama plans to announce his withdrawal strategy this week, and is expected to choose a compromise 19-month plan that leaves behind as many as 50,000 troops for clean-up and protection operations—potentially for years to come. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has said that a "residual" force would number in the tens of thousands. There are currently some 142,000 US troops in Iraq, including 14 combat brigades and thousands of support troops. Even after August 2010, as up to 50,000 would remain, including some combat units reassigned as "Advisory Training Brigades" or "Advisory Assistance Brigades," the officials said. (NYT, Newsday, CSM, Feb. 26)

US Army Sgt. Michael Leahy Jr. was convicted Feb. 20 on charges stemming from the 2007 deaths of four Iraqi detainees, and was given a life sentence at a court-martial at a US military base in Germany. Leahy will have a possibility of parole after being dishonorably discharged, having his rank reduced to private, and forfeiting his pay. The medic from Illinois had admitted to shooting one of the prisoners but pleaded not guilty to charges of premeditated murder, conspiracy to commit premeditated murder, and obstruction of justice, claiming his lack of sleep and long-term presence in a war zone had made him unable to reason properly.

The Iraqi government has reopened the prison formerly called Abu Ghraib, promising to operate the facility by international standards and allow inspections by humanitarian groups. In a tour for members of the media Feb. 21, officials said they hoped to temper the strong feelings many Iraqis hold toward the prison with a new name, Baghdad Central Prison, and renovations including fresh paint, exercise equipment, and a library. The facility currently holds 300 prisoners, but officials expect to reach a capacity more than 12,000 once improvements are complete.

Judge Abdul-Amir al-Rubaie of the Central Criminal Court of Iraq (CCCI) Feb. 19 postponed the trial of Muntadar al-Zaidi, the Iraqi journalist accused of throwing his shoes at former US president George W. Bush. The new trial date is set for March 12. Al-Zaidi's lawyers argued that Bush's visit was not official and therefore the charge of assaulting a foreign leader should not apply. The trial was postponed so the court could determine if Bush's visit was "official" and respond to the defense.

Four prisoners who were released from Guantánamo Bay and sent back to their home country of Iraq last month have been detained by authorities there and are being interrogated, Iraqi officials confirmed Feb. 17. "The government is reviewing their files to see if there are any charges against them," said Wijdan Mikhail Salim, the minister of human rights. She said that they will be released if not found guilty of any crimes. Following contradictory statements by Iraqi officials, rights groups have expressed concern about the condition and whereabouts of the men, who were initially detained by the US in Afghanistan.

The Committee to Protect Journalists called on the Barack Obama administration Feb. 10 to end the indefinite detention of journalists by the US military overseas. The organization cited 14 cases in which US forces had detained journalists for long periods—with one reporter, in Iraq, still incarcerated. Paul Steiger, chairman of the committee and a former Wall Street Journal editor, also called on the government to investigate the killings of 16 reporters by US forces in Iraq since the 2003 invasion. (NYT, Feb. 11)