Hassoun's pre-trial hearing postponed

A pre-trial hearing on charges of desertion and theft against a Utah Marine was officially postponed Thursday after the soldier slipped off once again.

"The Marine Corps has postponed the Article 32 pretrial investigation in the case of Cpl. Wassef Ali Hassoun until a time at which he can be made present for the hearing," wrote Marine spokesman Maj. Matthew Morgan in a statement Thursday.

Jihad Bazzi, a reporter for the Assafir newspaper in Beirut, Lebanon, said via e-mail that there has been no word of Hassoun's appearance in his hometown of Tripoli. Given the strange nature of this case, Bazzi said it was difficult to say what might happen next.

"It's like a movie," he said.

Marines branded Hassoun a deserter for a second time earlier this month after he failed to return to Camp LeJeune from a holiday visit with his family in West Jordan.

Hassoun was expected to appear at the hearing Thursday to determine if the Marine Corps had sufficient evidence to court-martial Hassoun on allegations that he fled his post while stationed in Iraq last summer.

A five-month investigation by the Navy determined Hassoun had stolen a Humvee and fled his camp just outside Fallujah. Before his second disappearance, Hassoun had consistently claimed that he had been abducted.

Al Jazeera Television showed video of Hassoun blindfolded. Weeks later, Hassoun turned up unharmed, yet hundreds of miles away in his native country of Lebanon, where he contacted U.S. authorities.

Hassoun's family members last heard from him was on Dec. 19, when he called and said he was in Washington, D.C.

National news sources have quoted sources within the Pentagon, saying Hassoun was tracked to Canada and then on to Lebanon, using his credit card number.

Morgan said the Marines have no idea where the 24-year-old is. "His whereabouts remain unknown."

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