FDA Drug Warning Could Affect Bales’ Sentencing in Afghan Massacre

The FDA said Monday that an anti-malarial drug can cause neurological side effects, and the lawyer for a soldier who killed 16 Afghan civilians says his client took the medication and that will likely be raised at his sentencing. 

Hal Bernton | Seattle Times | Originally published July 29, 2013 at 9:26 PM - Mefloquine, an anti-malarial drug used for years by U.S. troops as well as some civilians heading to tropical hot spots, can cause long-term neurological damage and serious psychiatric side effects, according to the Food and Drug Administration.

The FDA warning, made public Monday in a safety announcement, is likely to be raised in the upcoming sentencing of U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Robert Bales for murdering 16 Afghan civilians. John Henry Browne, Bales’ attorney, says the soldier took mefloquine on earlier tours of duty in Iraq.

READ MORE

US Military Sanity Board to Assess Robert Bales in Trial Over Afghan Deaths

The Guardian | Reuters | A US soldier charged with killing 16 civilians, most of them women and children, near his army post in Afghanistan is set to undergo a medical review on Sunday to determine his state of mind at the time of the killings and ability to stand trial. The review, known in the military as a "sanity board," will be conducted by three doctors at the Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state, and will be completed by 1 May, according to a US army spokesman. (READ MORE)

Afghan witnesses visit base to prepare for Staff Sgt. Bales' court-martial

McClatchy | Adam Ashton | The (Tacoma) News Tribune | Six Afghan civilians who plan to testify at the court-martial for Kandahar massacre suspect Staff Sgt. Robert Bales traveled to Joint Base Lewis-McChord last week to prepare for the trial.  Lt. Col. Gary Dangerfield, a spokesman for Lewis-McChord’s I Corps, confirmed that the witnesses visited the base last week and returned to Afghanistan. (READ MORE)