|
Lynndie Trial Update
FORT BRAGG, N.C. (AP) - Pfc. Lynndie England was often sloppy at her paperwork job at Abu Ghraib prison because of illicit, late-night visits to the part of the facility where detainees were abused, her supervisor testified Wednesday. The testimony by Spc. Matthew Bolinger at a pretrial hearing continued the government's theme of portraying England as one of a handful of out-of-control Army reservists who took it upon themselves to photograph detainees in humiliating poses at the prison near Baghdad. Bolinger said England was repeatedly disciplined for sneaking into the prison's fortified "hard site" to visit her boyfriend, Spc. Charles A. Graner Jr., who is also charged in the case and is the father of the child England is carrying. "Her performance was not so good," Bolinger said. "She was sneaking out in the middle of the night, going to the hard site." Bolinger said England also was disciplined after being caught in bed several times with Graner beginning in July 2003. He said authorities tried several different punishments to keep her away from Graner and his part of the prison, including restricting her to her quarters and requiring that she be escorted any time she left the unit's headquarters building.
Bolinger, who supervised England in her job processing prison paperwork, testified by phone from Fort Lee, Va., where the 372nd Military Police Company, based on Cresaptown, Md., is stationed since returning from Iraq. On Tuesday, Army investigators testified that the naked detainees shown with England in human pyramids and tethered to a leash were common criminals of little or no value to interrogators - abused "for fun." The prosecution's case has been aimed at rebutting a defense claim that England was acting on orders from higher-ups to break down prisoners for questioning. The hearing, expected to last through the week, will determine whether a court-martial goes forward against England on 13 counts of abusing detainees and six counts stemming from possession of sexually explicit photos. The maximum possible sentence is 38 years in prison. Posted by: Steve 2004-08-04 |
|
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=39725 |