U.S. soldier sentenced to life in prison over Afghan killings
Italian Border Police board the Ezadeen at Corigliano harbour on January 3, 2015, a day after some 500 would-be Syrian immigrants disembarked from the ship (AFP Photo/Alfonso Di Vincenzo)The US military jury sentenced Staff Sergeant Robert Bales on Friday for the night-time rampage, according to a verdict read in court.
U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Robert Bales has just received his sentencing for his massacre of 16 Afghan civilians last year.
Staff Sgt Robert Bales, 39, opened fire on men, children and elderly women during a shooting spree in Kandahar province last March.
He had pleaded guilty to the massacre in June to avoid the death penalty.
He apologised for the massacre during his sentencing hearing on Thursday, calling it an "act of cowardice".
Bales had been making a case for why he should one day be eligible for parole, which would have meant he could potentially have been released in 10 years.
But on Friday the military jury of six ruled against him.
A veteran of four combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, Bales has admitted to killing the villagers, mostly women and children, in Kandahar province in March 2012.
Source: Agencies
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