A U.S. Marine charged twice with desertion has turned himself in to U.S. custody after hiding for nine years in Lebanon, authorities said Sunday.
Cpl. Wassef Ali Hassoun, 34, surrendered to NCIS investigators in Bahrain, reportedly telling them that he feared for his life in Lebanon.
Capt. Eric Flanagan said that Hassoun was being from out of the Middle East to Norfolk, Virginia on Sunday. From there, he is to be moved to Camp Lejeune, a Marine Corps base in North Carolina, where authorities will decide whether or not to court-martial him.
'The Naval Criminal Investigative Service worked with Cpl. Hassoun to turn himself in and return to the United States to face charges under the Uniformed Code of Military Justice,' the Marines said in a statement.
Cpl. Wassef Ali Hassoun at the gates of the Marine Corp. base in Quantico, Virginia on July 19, 2004. Hassoun turned himself in Sunday after fleeing the country amid pending desertion charges in 2005
Hassoun's saga began in 2004, when he allegedly constructed a hoax to make it appear that he had been kidnapped from Camp Fallujah, in Iraq.
Hassoun, who served as an Arabic translator, left the base on June 20, 2004. On June 27, a photographs surfaced of him being held blindfolded with a sword held above him.
The picture aired on Al-Jazeera, with the message that he was being held captive by a group called the National Islamic Resistance, who would decapitate Hassoun unless their demands of freeing prisoners from U.S. detention were met.
On July 3, Al-Jazeera reported that the terrorist group Jaish Ansar al-Sunna released a statement that they had beheaded Hassoun. However, these reports were later denied and proven untrue, when Hassoun returned to the U.S. embassy in Beirut unharmed on July 8.
Hassoun blindfolded with a sword held over his head, broadcasted by Al-Jazeera on June 27, 2004. Hassoun allegedly deserted Camp Fallujah, and had promised to renounce his being a U.S. Marine
Hassoun with his mother in Tripoli, Lebanon, in an undated photo
Hassoun denied claims that he had agreed to renounce his membership with the U.S. Military, and took to the press following his return to the United States to argue that he had not deserted his post.
'I did not desert my post,' he told reporters at a July 19 press conference held at the Marine Corps base in Quantico, Virginia. 'I was captured and held against my will by anti-coalition forces for 19 days. This was a very difficult and challenging time for me.'
A five month investigation concluded with Hassoun being charged for desertion and theft of military property, including a military-issued M9 pistol he carried with him.
Hassoun had not yet been formally charged when he fled the United States in January 2005. During the course of the investigation, he was not deployed but his freedom was not limited, allowing him to take authorized vacations. He did not return to Camp Lejeune from a trip to see relatives in Utah, prompting the military to official label him as a deserter and place him on the most wanted list.
Had he been convicted at that time, Hassoun faced a dishonorable discharge, in addition to 5-10 years incarceration.
Hassoun returns to the United States facing two charges of desertion, the first being his initially allegation of it and the second for his disappearance in January 2005.
It was not said what Hassoun had been doing in Lebanon during the nine years he hid there.
His brother claims that Hassoun chose to flee to his homeland of Lebanon because of pressure from the initial allegations, as well as a purported anti-Muslim bias in the military.
'Instead of them giving him medals and making him feel good about his service and what he was doing for his country, they gave him an Article 32,' Hassoun's brother said of the military court proceedings that his brother was to have faced in January 2005.
The Marine Corps denied any anti-Muslim sentiment in their handling of Hassoun.
Hassoun was born in Lebanon, but was a naturalized American citizen. His family claimed that the last time they had spoken to their son was on December 29, 2004.
Officials say that this case is completely unrelated to the case of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who disappeared from his post in Afghanistan in 2009. Soldiers who served with Bergdahl have accused him of deserting.
DAILYMAIL.CO.UK
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