A court-martial will start Monday for a U.S.
Army intelligence officer charged with abuses at Iraq's Abu
Ghraib prison, where he headed the interrogation center, the
Army said on Saturday.
The trial of Lt. Col. Steven Jordan will be convened at Fort
Meade, Maryland, outside Washington, the Army said.
Jordan is charged with cruelty and maltreatment of detainees
as well as making false statements and obstruction of justice,
disobeying a superior officer and failure to obey orders.
The charges stem from violations of the Uniformed Code of Military
Justice alleged to have taken place at the Joint Interrogation
Debriefing Center at Abu Ghraib on or about September 17, 2003
to August 19, 2004.
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A lawyer for Jordan could not immediately be reached for comment.
The court-martial is being convened by the commander, Joint
Force Headquarters for the national capital region and U.S.
Army Military District of Washington.
An investigation of prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib carried out
by Army Maj. Gen. Antonio Taguba in 2004 described Jordan as
one of several directly or indirectly responsible.
A preponderance of evidence showed Jordan failed to prevent
the unauthorized use of dogs and the humiliation of detainees
kept naked for no acceptable purpose while he was a senior officer
in charge, among other failings, Taguba said.
Between May 2004 and September 2005, seven U.S. troops were
convicted of Abu Ghraib-related offenses, sentenced to prison
and dishonorably discharged from service. Brig. Gen. Janis Karpinski,
the commander of Abu Ghraib, was demoted to the rank of colonel
in 2005. She denied knowledge of the abuses.