KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — U.S. military investigators have recommended that four more American troops be court-martialed in connection with the suicide of their fellow infantryman who shot himself in a guard tower in southern Afghanistan, the U.S. military said today.

The four are among eight U.S. soldiers charged in the death of Pvt. Danny Chen, 19, of New York City, who shot himself after what investigators say were weeks of racial slurs, humiliation and physical abuse by his colleagues. Chen, who was of Chinese descent, had only been in Afghanistan for two months when he committed suicide Oct. 3 at a remote base in the south.

So far, U.S. military investigators have recommended that seven of the eight soldiers be court-martialed.

But the final decision on whether they will be courtmartialed will be made by their brigade commander and then ultimately the commander of the U.S.-led coalition’s southern region.

After arriving in Afghanistan, Chen was subjected to hazing by members of his unit, the 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division based in Fort Wainwright, Alaska.

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