Washington ( CNN ) -- Three U.S. Navy SEALs face criminal charges after the alleged mastermind of one of the most notorious crimes against Americans in Iraq accused them of punching him after his capture , the military said Wednesday . Ahmed Hashim Abed -- thought to be behind the slayings and mutilation of four U.S. contractors in Falluja in 2004 and captured in summer -- made the accusations against the three servicemen , said Lt. Col. Holly Silkman , a spokeswoman for U.S. Central Command . A civilian lawyer for one of three SEALs said his client and the other SEALs declined a nonjudicial resolution to the case , a step sometimes called a `` captain 's mast . '' The servicemen say they did not harm the detainee in any way and they want their names cleared in a court-martial so they can continue their careers in the Navy , said the attorney , Neil Puckett . Because the charges against Petty Officer 2nd Class Matthew McCabe , Petty Officer Jonathan Keefe and Petty Officer Julio Heurtas are the military equivalent of misdemeanors , they will go before a special court-martial , which is for less serious offenses than those heard in a general court-martial . If found guilty , they could be sentenced to a maximum of a year in a military prison , demotion to the lowest Navy rank , a cut in pay and a bad conduct discharge . But if found innocent of all charges , they would be able to continue their careers with no record of the case in their personnel files . The three SEALs are with their unit in Norfolk , Virginia . They will make an initial appearance before a military judge on December 7 . The court-martial is scheduled to begin in January . The attorney said he expects the SEALs will not waive their constitutional right to confront the accuser in court , which could cause a logistical challenge . Abed is believed to be in a U.S. military detention center overseas , and it is unclear if the military would want him brought to the United States for the court-martial . The four contractors , one of whom was a former Navy SEAL , were working for the Blackwater company when they were attacked in Falluja in 2004 . After they were killed with hand grenades and rifles , their bodies were set on fire and dragged through the streets . The bodies of two of them were hung from a bridge in Falluja , an image that was broadcast around the world . Four days after the attack , the U.S. Marines launched a major offensive inside Falluja , in part to help find the killers .
Ahmed Hashim Abed is accused of planning the '04 slayings and mutilations of 4 U.S. contractors . Abed says SEALs punched him when he was captured in summer . Contractors ' bodies were set on fire and dragged through streets of Falluja .