被控在阿富汗屠杀平民的美国士兵周一受审

A U.S. Army soldier accused of an Afghan village massacre is due to appear in a military courtroom Monday, where prosecutors will for the first time lay out their case against him.

Staff Sergeant Robert Bales, who is 39 years old and the father of two, is alleged to have walked out of his southern Afghanistan military base under the cover of darkness March 11, gunning down 16 people, including nine children, in nearby villages. Some of the bodies were set afire.

U.S. forces have paid compensation to families of the dead and to those wounded in the attack.

The preliminary hearing Monday at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in (the northwestern U.S. state of )) Washington is an Article 32 hearing designed to determine if Bales should face a court martial.

Relatives of the victims and witnesses are expected to testify via videolink from southern Afghanistan.

Bales could face the death penalty if convicted of the shootings.  The U.S. military has not executed a service member in five decades.

贝尔斯上士现年39岁，他是两个孩子的父亲，被控于今年3月11号趁夜色走出位于阿富汗南部的营地，在附近一个村庄开枪打死16人，其中包括九名儿童。一些尸体被焚烧。

美国军队对这次袭击的死伤者家庭进行了赔偿。

星期一，将就贝尔斯一案在华盛顿州的路易斯-迈科德联合基地进行初步听证，依照第32条法规判定是否对被告进行军法审判。

预计，受害者亲属和证人将通过视频从阿富汗南部提供证词。

如果被判罪名成立，贝尔斯可能面临死刑。50年来，美国军方从未处决过现役军人。