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| Iraq |
| US commander ordered to court |
| 2004-12-04 |
| A MILITARY judge today ordered the former commander of US prisons in Iraq to testify at the trial of a soldier who says he was ordered to abuse detainees at Abu Ghraib. The judge, Colonel James Pohl, said Brigadier-General Janice Karpinski's testimony at the trial of Sergeant Javal Davis would be limited to conditions at Abu Ghraib and the interaction there between guards and military interrogators. Davis told investigators military intelligence personnel appeared to approve of the abuse. "We were told they had different rules," he told investigators, according to an army report. Karpinski has denied knowing about any mistreatment of prisoners until photographs were made public at the end of April showing hooded and naked prisoners being tormented by their US captors. In an interview with The Associated Press, Karpinski said a "conspiracy" among top US commanders left her to blame for the abuses at Abu Ghraib. A report issued by an independent panel of nongovernment experts blamed Karpinski for leadership failures that "helped set the conditions at the prison which led to the abuses". The hearing came as the navy said it was investigating new photographs obtained by the AP that appear to show navy SEALs in Iraq sitting on hooded and handcuffed detainees. Other photos show what appear to be bloodied prisoners, one with a gun to his head. Davis and Specialist Sabrina Harman had pretrial hearings in Fort Hood, Texas, today that were originally scheduled to begin next year in Baghdad. Charges against Davis, a native of New Jersey, include conspiracy to maltreat detainees, assault, dereliction of duty and lying in official statements. He has acknowledged stepping on the fingers and toes of detainees, but denied hurting anyone and said he was ordered to "soften them up". Harman, of Virginia, is accused of photographing some of the abuse, participating in sexual humiliation of naked prisoners, writing "rapist" on the leg of a detainee who then was forced to pose naked with other prisoners, and placing wires in the hands of a detainee and telling him he would be electrocuted if he fell off a box. She was photographed standing behind naked, hooded Iraqis stacked in a human pyramid and also shown next to a dead body packed in ice giving thumbs-up signs with Specialist Charles Graner Jr. Graner, described as the ringleader and the father of the child of Private First Class Lynndie England, is set to appear in court on Monday. He is expected to seek dismissal of charges on grounds of undue command influence. The three are among seven members of the Maryland-based 372nd Military Police Company charged with humiliating and assaulting prisoners at the Baghdad prison. Graner, of Pennsylvania, is scheduled for trial beginning January 7. Davis's trial will begin on February 1. Harman's trial date has not yet been determined, according to Fort Hood officials. |
| Posted by:God Save The World |
| #1 The "rapist" episode did happen. What this story does not tell you is that the 5 Iraqis raped an 18 year old man/boy. Instead of writing "rapist" on their bodies and shaming them, the guards should have collapsed a wall on the 5. Either that, or give the 18 year old to the 5 as their butt toy. Either seems acceptable in the Arab world. |
| Posted by: ed 2004-12-04 11:19:34 PM |