US Navy charges elite sailors over Iraq prisoner abuse

1.00pm

Four members of an elite US Navy SEAL unit have been charged with abusing prisoners in Iraq, including one who died at Abu Ghraib prison after being beaten.

The four sailors face US military criminal charges including assault, aggravated assault, maltreatment of detainees, failure to report maltreatment of detainees, making false official statements to investigators, and solicitation to commit and offense, according to a Navy statement.

The Navy did not identify the sailors, who are members of an elite Sea-Air-Land (SEAL) team. They were charged on Thursday in connection with an investigation into prisoner abuse from October 2003 to April 2004, the Navy said.

A Navy official said some of the charges were connected to the death of an Iraqi captured by SEALs last November.

This marked the first time that criminal charges have been brought against Navy personnel in the prisoner abuse scandal that erupted when pictures of US forces physically abusing and sexually humiliating Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib on the outskirts of Baghdad surfaced in April.

Seven Army reservists, all military policy, have been charged, and military investigators have recommended charges against dozens of others in the Army.

"The Navy takes all allegations of abuse seriously and will conduct appropriate review of all available evidence involved in this case," the Navy statement said.

- REUTERS

Herald Feature: Iraq