SAN DIEGO—Prosecutors appealed the dismissal of charges against a Marine officer accused of not investigating the killings of 24 Iraqis, a defense attorney said Tuesday.
Military prosecutors filed the appeal Monday seeking to reinstate charges against Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani, civilian defense attorney Brian Rooney told The Associated Press.
A Marine Corps spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A military judge last month dismissed charges against Chessani after finding that a four-star general overseeing the case was improperly influenced by an investigator probing the Nov. 19, 2005, killings in Haditha, Iraq.
Chessani, of Rangely, Colo., was the highest-ranking officer to face a combat-related court-martial since the Vietnam War.
The Iraqis were killed after one Marine died and two others were wounded by a roadside bomb.
Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich, who faces voluntary manslaughter charges, and a squad member allegedly shot five men by a car at the scene. Investigators say Wuterich then ordered his men to clear several houses with grenades and gunfire, leaving women and children among the dead.
Wuterich, who is from Meriden, Conn., has pleaded not guilty.
Four enlisted Marines were originally charged with counts related to the killings and four officers were charged in connection with the investigation, including Chessani. Charges have since been dropped against everyone except Wuterich, whose case is pending, and an officer who was acquitted.
The dismissal of Chessani’s case came after Gen. James Mattis took the stand—a rare courtroom appearance for such a high-ranking officer—to address the judge’s initial finding that there was evidence of unlawful command influence.
Mattis testified he never discussed Chessani with Col. John Ewers, the military lawyer who investigated the killings and took Chessani’s statement. Ewers later became a top legal adviser to Mattis and sat in on briefings that helped Mattis decide who would be charged.
Military policy prohibits Ewers from offering legal advice because he also was an investigator in the case.
Mattis approved the filing of charges against Chessani when he was both commander of the Marine Corps Forces Central Command and the commander of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Pendleton. He has since been promoted and serves as commander of NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Transformation and commander of U.S. Joint Forces.
