BAGHDAD, May 19: A tearful US soldier was sentenced to a year in jail on Wednesday after confessing he and colleagues abused Iraqi prisoners in a scandal that threatens to undermine President George W. Bush's re-election chances.
Military policeman Jeremy Sivits, who apologized to Iraqis at the first court martial of soldiers accused of abuses that sparked worldwide outrage, was also expelled from the army.
It was not enough for protesters outside Abu Ghraib prison, scene of a scandal which erupted when pictures were published of naked and terrified Iraqi inmates being abused and sexually humiliated.
"It's a kangaroo court, set up just to placate Iraqis," said Hala Azzawi, mother of one of some 3,000 Iraqis held at the jail near Baghdad. "I wish they would get death, it's less than they deserve."
Sivits, a 24-year-old reservist, pointed the finger at others, against whom he will testify under a plea bargain, over the abuses. Chief among them was Specialist Charles Graner who, Sivits said, pulled out a camera after stamping on naked prisoners.
INFAMOUS PICTURE: Sivits, who faced the lightest charges of seven US soldiers accused so far, admitted pushing a prisoner into a now infamous picture of a pile of naked Iraqis.
Three more guards at the prison were arraigned on more serious charges as the abuse scandal and guerilla violence increased pressure on Washington to hand over real power to Iraqis along with formal sovereignty on June 30. Graner, Staff Sergeant Ivan Frederick and Sergeant Javal Davis all deferred pleas at quickfire hearings and will appear again on June 21.
US officials had said repeatedly the abuses were confined to a small group of guards at Abu Ghraib, although the International Committee of the Red Cross and Amnesty International say abuse was more systematic and widespread.
But General John Abizaid, head of US Central Command, suggested mistreatment was more extensive than acknowledged previously, saying the US military had investigated 75 cases of abuse of prisoners in Iraq and Afghanistan since late 2002.
"I think the question before us (is): is there a systemic abuse problem with regard to interrogation that exists in the Central Command area of operations?" he told a Senate hearing.
The scandal has battered the image of the United States across the world and prompted loud calls from around the globe for Washington to hand over real power to Iraqis. -Reuters
