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The lawyer for the US Army staff sergeant accused of slaughtering 16 Afghan civilians says the soldier has only a sketchy memory of the night of the massacre.
Lawyer John Henry Browne says 38-year-old Robert Bales remembers some details from before and after the killings, but very little during the time the military believes he went on a rampage through two Afghan villages.
Browne spoke with The Associated Press from Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, where Bales is being held.
Bales, 38, has not been charged yet in the March 11 shootings, though charges could come this week.
The killings sparked protests in Afghanistan, endangered relations between the two countries and threatened to upend American policy over the decade-old war.
Under the US military justice system, prosecutors draft charges to be filed against an accused soldier, then present them to his unit commander, who must then decide whether there is enough evidence to believe a crime was committed.
If so, the commander signs the charging documents so that the case can be "preferred" for formal prosecution.
"My understanding is that the preferral of charges on Sergeant Bales will be announced by (his commanding officer in) Afghanistan," the US Army official told AFP on Monday.
"I expect it to be within the next few days. It is that point in time when a suspect is formally charged."
Before trial, Bales must appear at an "Article 32" hearing - a preliminary hearing at which prosecutors argue for a court-martial.
Browne said last week that Bales had recently been under stress, which was heightened when he witnessed a fellow soldier seriously wounded by stepping on a mine. He did not explain the legal defence he would use for his client.
The US media reported that Bales, who in addition to Browne also has a military lawyer, and his wife were enduring financial problems.
The non-commissioned officer, who joined the Army two months after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, served three tours of duty in Iraq and had been in Afghanistan since December.
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