P
hoto,
from L to R: Graner (right) faces seven charges.
Sivits has made allegations about his colleagues.
Military Police Cpl Charles A Graner
will appear before a court on Thursday to enter a plea on charges including
cruelty and maltreatment of detainees. One abuse suspect, Jeremy Sivits, has
made detailed allegations about his colleagues, including Cpl Graner. In
Baghdad, the US military has begun releasing more than 300 inmates from Abu
Ghraib jail. Seven soldiers have so far been charged over abuse at the jail -
three are still waiting to hear if they will face trial. They include Private
Lynndie England, who is pregnant with Cpl Graner's child. US Brig-Gen Mark
Kimmitt said Cpl Graner faces seven charges - more than any of his
co-defendants so far. He will be arraigned next Thursday, but no trial date
has yet been set.
Staff
Sergeant Ivan Frederick and Sergeant Javal Davis will also appear before the
court on Thursday, facing five charges each. Specialist Jeremy Sivits becomes
the first to go on trial on Wednesday. US President George Bush and Defence
Secretary Donald Rumsfeld have said all those involved in abuse at Abu Ghraib
jail will be brought to justice. Allegations: Several US newspapers,
including the New York Times and the Washington Post, have reported
allegations made by Spc Jeremy Sivits, the first soldier to face court-martial
over the scandal, about the extent and nature of the abuse at Abu Ghraib. The
papers said they had seen the statement he gave to US investigators. The
New York Times said he portrayed in "graphic but unemotional language" how
guards had forced inmates to strip, masturbate and pile on top of each other.
He alleged that in one instance Cpl Graner "punched the detainee with a closed
fist hard in the temple that it knocked the detainee unconscious," the paper
said. "He [Graner] was joking, laughing... Like he was enjoying it," Mr Sivits
said, according to the transcript. "He went over to the pile of detainees that
were still clothed and he put his knees on them and had his picture taken. I
took this photo." He also told how "a couple of the detainees kind of made an
'ahh' sound as if this hurt them or caused them some type of pain when Davis
would land on them". Spc Sivits said that Sgt Davis responded by stepping on
their fingers or toes, and the detainees screamed, the New York Times said.
But Spc Sivits said the abuse was not authorised by his army superiors. "Our
command would have slammed us. They believe in doing the right thing. If they
saw what was going on, there would be hell to pay," he said, according to the
transcripts. 'Fabricated': However, lawyers for the soldiers named by
Mr Sivits said his statements were questionable because he was entering into
plea bargaining with prosecutors. Paul Bergrin, a lawyer representing Sgt
Davis, described Spc Sivits' statement as "fabricated" and "self-serving". Spc
Sivits is expected to plead guilty at his trial, at which he faces lesser
charges than his colleagues. Sgt Davis told ABC television on Friday that he
roughed up detainees, but did not take part in the worst abuses. "You will not
see me in any of those pictures, because I wouldn't have done anything like
that. I drew the line of what I would do and not do," he said. The Reuters
news agency quoted a US soldier recently returned from Abu Ghraib as saying
sex and violence were rife at the jail. "There was lots of affairs. There was
all kinds of adultery and alcoholism... going on," said Dave Bischel, before
going on to describe how chairs were set up round a mattress for an audience
to watch. The US military began releasing hundreds of prisoners from Abu
Ghraib on Friday, as part of plans to reduce the prison's population from its
current level of about 4,000 inmates to about 1,500.
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