Thursday, June 12, 2008

Two Marines disciplined for puppy-toss video: military

LOS ANGELES (AFP) — Two US Marines have been disciplined for their role in an Internet video that showed a puppy being thrown off a cliff by a soldier in Iraq, the military said in a statement Thursday.

A press release from the US Marines Corps base in Hawaii said Lance Corporal David Motari, who was seen in the video hurling the puppy into a rocky ravine, faced expulsion for the incident.

Motari, part of the 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment at Kaneohe Bay, is "being processed for separation," the statement said. He also faced unspecified "non-judicial" punishment.

Another Marine, Sergeant Crismarvin Banez Encarnacion, whose role in the incident was unclear, received non-judicial punishment the Marines said.

"The actions seen in the Internet video are contrary to the high standards we expect of every Marine and will not be tolerated," the Marines statement read. "The vast majority of Marines conduct their duties with honor and compassion that makes American people proud."

The video in question surfaced on Youtube in March and drew outrage from animal-lovers before later being removed.

In the footage, a Marine identified as Motari can be seen smiling and dangling a small black and white puppy before launching it off the cliff, where it can heard yelping as it plunges to its death.

"That's mean. That's mean, Motari," an unidentified voice off-camera is heard saying before sniggering as the video ends.

AFP

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