The soldiers will be tried in Germany because they were formerly assigned to the 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment, which is based in the country, US Army spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Eric Bloom told The Local.

“Right now it’s just court proceedings, but not an actual trial,” Bloom said. “If there is a verdict they may serve time in our Mannheim facility, depending on how long the sentence is.”

Charges against the three men include premeditated murder, conspiracy to commit premeditated murder and obstruction of justice.

The New York Times reported this August that two of the soldiers had made sworn statements saying that the group had killed four bound and blinded Iraqis execution style near a Baghdad canal.

Two of the soldiers are also being charged with premeditated murder and conspiracy to commit murder in a separate incident in January 2007.

“The judge may, or may not decide to take it to trial, but if he does they will all get the standard US trial by peers,” Bloom told The Local.