IRAQ: The first of seven US soldiers charged with abusing detainees at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison will be court martialed later this month in a public trial, the US military said yesterday.
Specialist Jeremy Sivits (24), a member of the 800th Military Police Brigade, is charged with conspiracy to maltreat detainees; dereliction of duty for failing to protect detainees from abuse, cruelty and maltreatment; and maltreatment of detainees, the Department of Defence said in a statement.
The court martial will begin on May 19th in Baghdad and will be held in public, possibly at a convention centre built by Saddam Hussein that sits inside the "Green Zone", the heavily protected headquarters of the US-led coalition.
"Court martials are open to the public," military spokesman Brig Gen Mark Kimmitt told reporters in Baghdad. "It's our desire to make the upcoming courts martial as accessible as possible."
The charges carry a maximum sentence of one year's imprisonment, a reduction in grade to private, the docking of two-thirds pay and allowances for a year and a fine. The court can also hand down a bad conduct discharge from the military.
A US military lawyer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Sivits, from Hyndman, Pennsylvania, would be able to chose whether he is tried in front of a military judge or a three-person panel of senior military officers. He will have access to a military trial defence attorney and a civilian attorney. - (Reuters)