‘Serial’ Subject Bowe Bergdahl Will Face Court-Martial

Bowe Bergdahl, who was held by the Taliban for five years and freed in exchange for five detainees in Guantanamo Bay, will face charges of desertion and misbehavior before the enemy in a general court-martial, instead of a misdemeanor-level forum, the Army announced Monday.

The military charges against U.S. Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl have been referred to a general court-martial.

The decision issued by Army Gen. Robert Abrams, commander of U.S. Army Forces Command at Fort Bragg, N.C., comes three months after testimony at a preliminary hearing in San Antonio, Texas, painted Bergdahl as a deluded “idealist” with mental health problems who had suffered torture and lifelong injuries while in captivity. He left the compound voluntarily and was then captured by Taliban soldiers who held him for five years. “I do not believe that there is a jail sentence at the end of this process”, Dahl said.

While the news is hard to understand for those who don’t understand the ins and outs of the military legal system, the Serial podcast team is there to break down what this means for Bergdahl.

Abrams’ decision came just days after Bergdahl for the first time publicly explained why he left his base, in taped interviews that were broadcast by the Serial podcast last week.

The case against Bergdahl is likely to remain a staple of attacks by Republicans, who say it emphasizes President Obama’s weakness on foreign policy.

A date for an arraignment hearing at Fort Bragg in North Carolina will be announced later. Lt. Col. Mark Visger, the officer in charge of Bergdahl’s Article 32 hearing, has also recommended Bergdahl stay out of prison. In a recording released last week, Bergdahl asserted that he was trying to highlight Army mismanagement and to emulate “Bourne Identity” hero Jason Bourne when he set off from his remote base with few supplies and about $300 in cash. Dahl also said he had found no evidence to support assertion that any soldiers had been killed while searching for Bergdahl over the course of his 59-day investigation, despite claims by Trump and others that six had specifically died while doing so.

Fidell also urged Republican presidential front runner Donald Trump, who has called Berghdal a traitor who should be executed, to butt out of the case. Bergdahl was exchanged in may 2014 against five Guantanamo Bay detainees after five years in the hands of the insurgents.

Mr Fidell also asked the House and Senate Armed Services committees to avoid further statements “that prejudice our client’s right to a fair trial”.

US military prosecutors said at the hearing in September, that Bergdahl snuck away from his post under the cover of night on a plan that was weeks in the making.