US Marine missing for 10 years claims he is not a Deserter

Cpl Wassef Ali Hassoun, a naturalised American, turns himself after he disappeared from the Marine Corps for a second time.

12:05 30 June 2014

Cpl Wassef Ali Hassoun, a naturalised American who worked as an Arabic interpreter for the service and who have been listed as deserter for 10 years, turned himself up in Bahrain and is now back in custody. He went missing in 2005 after visiting his family in Utah. 

 

In a statement, the Marine Corps, said: "The Naval Criminal Investigative Service worked with Cpl Hassoun to turn himself in and return to the US to face charges under the Uniformed Code of Military Justice.”

 

Reports confirmed that Hassoun fled to Canada before going to Lebanon where he was born. He was first charged with deserting in 2004 after he disappeared from his base in Iraq. He explained his disappearance saying: "I did not desert my post. 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."

 

Although he returned to Lejeune to face desertion charges, he disappeared again and this time, he was placed on the “most wanted” fugitives list. The reasons why he chose to turn himself in or where he spent the last 10 years are still unclear.