A military courts martial tribunal has completed its proceedings investigating the Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal. U.S. Army Lt. Col. Steven Jordan, 51, was acquitted of responsibility for the actions of 11 other soldiers for their actions against prisoners of the U.S. military in Iraq. Jordan was formally reprimanded, however, for disobeying an official order to keep silent about the investigation. Prosecutors have asked that Jordan be fined one months pay – about $7,400.
Photographs were leaked to the media regarding degrading acts committed by U.S. military personnel against prisoners held in the Abu Ghraib detention facility in Iraq. The pictures, which surfaced in April 2004, show prisoners in various acts of physical abuse and sexual humiliation. In one depiction, Iraqi prisoners are shown stacked naked in a human pyramid. In another, prisoners are shown cowering before snarling dogs. Other pictures show various degrees of degradation of the dead.
Four soldiers of the 320th MP Battalion were convicted under the Uniform Code of Military Justice for abuse of detainees. Janice Karpinski, the military commander of the battalion, was demoted from Colonel to Brigadier General for dereliction of duty in the Abu Ghraib scandal. Spc. Charles Graner was given a 10-year prison sentence for war crimes, including assault and obstruction of justice. Spc. Lyndie England, notoriously depicted leading a prisoner on a leash, was given 3-years for her role in the abuses at Abu Ghraib.
Human Rights Watch has called for an independent investigation in the scandal, stating there there are “huge gaps in the accountability process.” Colin Powell, who was Secretary of State at the time of the scandal, stated that “the system worked” in prosecuting military personnel for war crimes. Others, however, say that the lack of prosecution for high ranking military officials portrays the military courts martial as a show trial. Allen Keller, a professor of medicine at New York University and an expert on torture, states that “Such lack of accountability sends a chilling message to the rest of the world.”
