=========================================================
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200408/s1168750.htm
=========================================================
Last Update: Wednesday, August 4, 2004. 2:14pm (AEST)
US soldiers abused Iraqis 'for fun'
US troops abused Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison "just for fun",
a military investigator has told a hearing into allegations against a
female soldier photographed holding a naked Iraqi on a leash.
Private Lynndie England, visibly pregnant, appeared on the opening day
of the military court hearing in North Carolina.
The court will decide whether she will be tried over the prisoner
abuse.
As the hearing began, Private England answered "Yes Ma'am" and "No
Ma'am" to simple questions from Colonel Denise Arn, the investigating
officer, about the charges.
Private England did not appear in court for the afternoon session. Her
lawyer said she had made an unscheduled visit to the doctor but would
not discuss her condition.
The lead investigator into the Abu Ghraib abuse, Chief Warrant Officer
Paul Arthur, told the court Private England had said in a sworn
statement that one of her superiors, Specialist Charles Graner, put
the leash on the naked Iraqi prisoner and told her to pose for the
infamous photograph.
But in an effort to shoot down defence claims that the abusers were
acting on orders from above, lead prosecutor Captain Crystal Jennings
asked if Warrant Officer Arthur had determined why the troops had
abused the prisoners.
"Basically it was just for fun ... and to vent their frustration,"
Warrant Officer Arthur said.
Scandal
Private England, 21, was charged along with six other US military
police reservists over a scandal that prompted an apology from US
President George W Bush, who placed the blame on a small group of
soldiers.
Private England has said she was following orders when she appeared in
the photos, which also included one in which she pointed at a
prisoner's genitals, with a cigarette dangling from her lips.
Private England returned from Iraq after becoming pregnant. Media
reports have said Specialist Graner, who is also charged with prisoner
abuse, is the father but her lawyers have not confirmed that.
Special Agent Warren Worth, another military criminal investigator,
said he found no evidence that orders came from higher in the chain of
command than Specialist Graner and Staff Sergeant Ivan Frederick,
another of the seven soldiers charged.
But Private England's lawyer, Captain Jonathan Crisp, repeatedly asked
Agent Worth what role military intelligence personnel had played in
the abuse, as he sought to bolster the notion that troops were urged
to rough up prisoners before questioning.
"Some of the soldiers alluded to military intelligence possibly saying
to 'give them the treatment' or soften them up," Agent Worth said.
Most of the abused prisoners had no military intelligence value, Agent
Worth said. The Pentagon has denied sanctioning rough treatment.
Agent Worth said more than 1,000 photographs had been found on CDs and
computers and about 280 showed evidence of prisoner abuse.
He described the widely publicised "naked pyramid" of prisoners,
photos of prisoners being forced to masturbate, of a prisoner who was
bitten by a military dog and others of Private England and Specialist
Graner engaged in sex acts.
The two witnesses said Private England never raised any objections to
the treatment of the prisoners.
Defense lawyer Richard Hernandez told a news conference that the
latest testimony bolstered his belief that the Abu Ghraib abuse was
part of a wider pattern of US military behaviour.
"All of the information out there points to a systemic problem," he
said. "These tactics are being used at places my client has never
been."
============================================================================
.
|
|
|
Related Articles |
World War III **NEWS** Monday, June 23, 2003 AD............................
World War III **NEWS** Tuesday, July 1, 2003 -- SARS death toll continues to mount.......
World War III **NEWS** Tuesday, July 1, 2003........
World War III **NEWS** Saturday, July 5, 2003 AD>>>>>>>>>>>>>
World War III **NEWS** Monday, July 14, 2003.......+
World War III **NEWS** Sunday, July 20, 2003
World War III *NEWS* Thursday, July 24, 2003 AD........
World War III ***NEWS*** Wednesday, July 30, 2003....+
| World War III ***NEWS*** Thursday, July 31, 2003..........
World War III *** NEWS *** Tuesday, August 5, 2003....Breaking News.....
World War III ***NEWS*** Wednesday, August 6, 2003.....+
World War III **NEWS ** Friday, August 15, 2003....US fears Israel may strike Iran's nukes
Re: World War III ***NEWS*** Monday, August 18th, 2003....
World War III ***NEWS*** Friday, August 22nd, 2003....+
World War III **NEWS** Thursday, August 28th, 2003 AD.......+
|
|
|
