Fort Hood shooter fined for refusing to shave

The US Army psychiatrist accused of a massacre on a Texas military base was again fined $1,000 for refusing to shave before a military hearing.

Major Nidal Hasan, who could face the death penalty if convicted, is accused of opening fire at the Fort Hood army base on November 5, 2009, in an attack that killed 12 soldiers and a civilian, and wounded 32 others.

The shooting jolted the US military and prompted calls for stronger safeguards against possible internal security threats and "homegrown" terror attacks.

Military Judge Colonel Gregory Gross has warned Hasan that he could be forcibly shaved if he continues to ignore grooming standards.

He held Hasan in contempt of court when he arrived at Friday's hearing with a beard and fined him $1,000, prosecutors said.

Gross had already fined Hasan $1,000 last week for failing to appear in court clean shaven.

His next hearing is scheduled for Thursday and the court-martial is scheduled to begin on August 20.

The FBI alleges Hasan had contacts with firebrand US-born cleric Anwar al-Awlaqi, a key leader of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula who was killed in a September 2011 drone strike.

The Yemeni-based cleric was also believed to have been instrumental in planning the botched plot by a Nigerian student dubbed the "underwear bomber" who tried to blow up a US-bound airliner on December 25, 2009.

Hasan, who was born in Virginia to Palestinian parents and raised in the eastern state, had attended a mosque in 2001 where Awlaqi worked and is believed to have continued to communicate with the radical cleric.

Set to deploy to Afghanistan weeks after the massacre, Hasan was shot by police officers as they tried to halt the carnage. He was left paralyzed from the neck down.

Loading...
  • 50 things that successful people do 8 hours ago

    Do you want to be successful? Of course you do. Who doesn’t, right? Obviously, the path to success isn’t easy. If it were, you’d see far more successful people around. Through my work, I’ve had the … More »

  • Is being apple- or pear-shaped healthier? 13 hours ago

    Good health is determined not only by a healthy weight but also by a healthy waist size and body shape. Increasingly, doctors are using waist size and body shape, along with body weight, to predict … More »

  • What Does 1-Billion-Year-Old Water Taste Like? Wed, Jun 19, 2013

    It's summer, and as much as I love the sunshine, I am doing my best to stay hydrated. Besides central air conditioning, a cool glass of water is my seasonal BFF. A newly discovered water source is … More »

  • Haze in Singapore reaches all-time record high at 321 PSI

    Haze in Singapore reaches all-time record high at 321 PSI

    Haze in Singapore reaches all-time record high at 321 PSI

    The Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) hit an all-time high of 321 at 10pm on Wednesday, crossing into the "hazardous" range, according to data from the National Environment Agency (NEA).

  • PM Lee, ministers up pressure on Indonesia to tackle haze

    PM Lee, ministers up pressure on Indonesia to tackle haze

    PM Lee, ministers up pressure on Indonesia to tackle haze

    Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and several Cabinet members have increased the pressure on Indonesia to take control of the haze situation.

  • COMMENT: A thin fine line

    COMMENT: A thin fine line

    COMMENT: A thin fine line

    COMMENT The concept of sub judice contempt for ongoing court cases is an important one; it is in place to ensure that proceedings can be as objective as possible, rather than swayed by the court of public opinion. Yet in … Continue reading →