US Navy commando cleared in Abu Ghraib case

A US military jury has found a Navy commando innocent of charges stemming from a 2003 incident in which his platoon beat a suspected Iraqi insurgent before handing him over to the CIA where he died in custody.

Navy Lieutenant Andrew Ledford had faced more than 11 years in prison had he been convicted at the court-martial on charges of assault, conduct unbecoming an officer, making false statements and dereliction of duty.

Ledford, 32, in his dress white uniform, hugged his pregnant wife after the verdict was read out and then walked over to shake hands with the prosecutors who had charged him with failing to uphold US standards for prisoner treatment.

"They were doing their job and they did a good job," Ledford said of the prosecutors. "I think that what makes this country great is that there is a system in place and it works." The death of Manadel al-Jamadi is one of at least three suspected abuse cases involving CIA interrogators the US Justice Department is examining for possible prosecution of intelligence operatives.

Ledford's lawyer, who has handled two courts-martial related to the al-Jamadi case, said any further details on how the Iraqi died would have to come from the US intelligence service, which handled his interrogation at Abu Ghraib.

The current case stemmed from a predawn raid by Ledford's SEAL platoon in Baghdad in November 2003 that seized al-Jamadi from an apartment and delivered him to CIA agents.

Al-Jamadi, a suspect in a bombing of Red Cross offices in Iraq that killed 12 people, died a few hours later at Abu Ghraib, where he was one of the unregistered "ghost" prisoners held there.

Navy SEALs testified they kicked, punched and struck the hooded and handcuffed al-Jamadi after snatching him in a brief and violent encounter.

A picture of al-Jamadi's corpse was published widely, showing his body packed in ice with a bandage below his right eye.

But defence lawyer Frank Spinner argued there was no evidence linking the Navy SEALs to al-Jamadi's death and that Ledford had been unaware of the beating the prisoner took in the back of a Humvee.

Spinner referred to al-Jamadi as a "terrorist" and called the US special forces members who seized him "valiant warriors." Spinner had also argued that international rules governing the treatment of war prisoners did not apply as the Navy commandos reacted to a rising Iraqi insurgency with little training. "Were they supposed to give (al-Jamadi) tea and cookies on the way from his apartment to a CIA interrogation?" he had asked in court.

After the verdict was read out, Spinner said, "It seems to me that there are still some questions to be answered about the death of al-Jamadi and the CIA probably has the answers." The Colorado-based lawyer recently completed his defence of Sabrina Harman, an Army reservist who was seen flashing a broad smile and giving a thumbs up as she posed alongside al-Jamadi's corpse. Harman received a relatively light six-month sentence.

Ledford's court-martial has been marked by exceptional secrecy with some of the key testimony -- including descriptions of how dangerous al-Jamadi was believed to be -- conducted in private to protect classified information.

"This was the only possible verdict," Ledford's father, retired US Army Colonel Kenneth Ledford, said afterward. "I know my son. I know what kind of character he has. I know leadership."

- REUTERS