Trial of 2009 U.S. army base shooting suspect set for August

The trial of former U.S. Army psychiatrist Nidal Hasan, accused of killing 12 soldiers and a civilian employee at Fort Hood in Texas in 2009, will start as scheduled on Aug. 20, a military judge ruled Friday.

The judge, Army Col. Gregory Gross, denied Hasan's request for a further delay of the trial until December, the Pentagon's American Forces Press Service reported.

Gross also submitted to questioning from Hasan's defense counsel concerning whether he was biased against the accused, and ruled that he was not and that no implied bias existed. After the ruling, the defense counsel decided to appeal to the Army Court of Criminal Appeals.

Hasan, an American Muslim of Palestinian descent, was not present in court Friday, and viewed the proceedings via a closed-circuit feed in a trailer next to the courthouse.

The shooting rampage, the worst terror attack at any U.S. military base, took place on Nov. 5, 2009 at the Fort Hood military base, the most populous U.S. military installation around the world.

In addition to the 13 people killed, 30 others at Fort Hood were wounded by Hasan, who is now paralyzed from the chest down after being shot and wounded that day.

Hasan, who was in close contact with Yemen-based cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, has been charged with 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted murder, and faces death penalty if convicted of the charges at court-martial.