Fourth US soldier to face abuse court martial

7.30am

BAGHDAD - Corporal Charles Graner will be the fourth US soldier to be court-martialled over the abuse of Iraqi prisoners when he faces seven charges including maltreatment, adultery and cruelty, the US military said.

Graner, facing more charges than any of his co-accused so far, will be arraigned on May 20, the same day as two sergeants who each face five charges.

No date is fixed for his general court martial, Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt told a news conference on Friday.

In all, seven military police reservists have been charged in an affair that has outraged Iraqi opinion against the US occupation. Three of them, all women, are still awaiting a decision on whether their cases will go to trial.

As well as cruelty, maltreatment and adultery, Graner is charged with dereliction of duty, assault, indecent acts and obstruction of justice.

Specialist Jeremy Sivits will be the first to be judged when he faces a special court martial in Baghdad on Wednesday, May 19. He is charged on three counts -- conspiracy to maltreat detainees, maltreatment and dereliction of duty.

Military sources and Sivits' family have said that he only took the now notorious pictures of the alleged abuses, and never participated. His charges are less and his potential punishment less severe than the others so far charged.

Staff Sergeant Ivan "Chip" Frederick and Sergeant Javal Davis will be arraigned on Thursday, May 20, and will also face a potentially more severe general court martial. At an arraignment, defendants hear the charges and can lodge a plea.

The Los Angeles Times cited court documents on Friday to say that Sivits told investigators that Graner abused detainees during nightly rounds, "joking, laughing...acting like he was enjoying it."

GUILTY PLEA

The paper said Sivits, expected to plead guilty at his court martial next week in Baghdad, said all the abuse was done without the knowledge of their superiors in the Army chain of command.

"Our command would have slammed us," he said, according to documents quoted by the paper. "If they saw what was going on, there would be hell to pay." He said Graner warned him not to say anything, telling him: "You did not see (this)."

President Bush's administration, in an election year, is at pains to say the abuse was the work of just a few guards, although Red Cross reports warning of systematic torture across Iraq have raised awkward questions.

Graner's attorney, Houston lawyer Guy Womack, was not available for comment on the Los Angeles Times report but has said, according to the Times, that Graner and other soldiers were under pressure by military interrogators to "soften up" the detainees to get intelligence.

Frederick and Davis face five charges each, four of them similar: conspiracy to maltreat detainees, maltreating detainees, dereliction of duty and assault. Davis also faces a charge of lying in an official statement and Frederick one of indecency by observing a group of prisoners masturbating.

Those who have yet to be referred for court martial are Specialist Sabrina Harman, Specialist Megan Ambuhl and Private Lynndie England.

England, whose smiling face appears in several of the most shocking pictures that have so far been revealed in the media, was returned to a military base in the United States earlier this year when it emerged she was pregnant with Graner's child.

- REUTERS

Herald Feature: Iraq