Afghan president wants compensation for families of Bales' victims
SEATTLE -- Afghan President Hamid Karzai is calling on the American government to make things right a day after Army Staff Sgt. Robert Bales was sentenced.
Meanwhile family members of the victims say Bales is a terrorist and that his sentence was unacceptable.
Bales received life in prison without the possibility of parole on Friday.
Survivors and family members of the victims say they were robbed of justice.
Even though Mullah Baran needed a translator, the pain of losing his brother needs no explanation.
“Our children is still facing that trauma," said Baran.
Bales went on a house to house killing spree in Kandahar province on March 11, 2012. In all 16 people were massacred, mostly women and children. One man lost 11 members of his family.
“Suddenly he found us at midnight, unarmed, therefore there was nothing we could do,” said Baran.
Baran is now responsible for his brother's children. He says he will be returning to Afghanistan to the same village scarred by Bales, with no sense of justice.
“Receiving a life sentence it was absolutely stunning,” said Baran.
The disgraced American soldier took responsibility on the stand.
“What I did was an act of cowardice. I am sorry, I'm truly sorry. I murdered their family, if I could bring their family members back I would in a heartbeat,” Bales said during his sentence hearing.
A spokesperson for the families says there was only one appropriate sentence for Bales and that was death.
“He planned, he killed, he burned them, it's barbaric and it's terrorism,” said Rizwan Samad.
Karzai said the people should not be seeking revenge rather compensation.
“Even if he is given the death sentence it will not bring our happiness back to us what I want for the United States is to go back to those families and to provide them an opportunity for a better livelihood,” said Karzai.
“I don’t know about compensation, it is up to the families but the man took so many lives he has to be punished,” said Samad.
The defense said Bales snapped because of PTSD and a traumatic brain injury, an explanation Baran refuses to accept.
Before the attack, Baran says his villagers welcomed American forces today the troops are their enemy.
“When they see American forces on the streets they run back, they say Americans are back with the pistols,” said Baran.
Although Bales is serving life without the possibility of parole he can seek clemency after serving 20 years.