COPENHAGEN, Aug 2: A Danish army intelligence officer has been sent home from Iraq and is under investigation after colleagues complained about the way he interrogated Iraqi prisoners, the army said on Monday.

"Due to a strong sense of justice, Danish soldiers who saw things they thought were out of order contacted their superiors," Danish armed forces spokesman Hans-Christian Mathiesen said.

The unidentified official stationed at Camp Eden, southern Iraq, was sent home two weeks before his tour of duty was due to end. His return comes a day before a hearing in the United States on whether a US soldier will be tried for prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib prison, near Baghdad.

According to a report in the Ekstra Bladet daily newspaper, the officer denied prisoners water and forced them to hold uncomfortable positions for long periods of time.

Asked to comment on the report, which also said other soldiers had reported the Danish officer's interrogation techniques as unacceptable, Mathiesen said: "It's no secret that the story in Ekstra Bladet, the fact an investigation has been launched, and the fact that an officer has been sent home are related."

Denmark has been a loyal supporter of the US-led invasion and occupation of Iraq. US policy on Iraq suffered a major blow a few months ago when graphic evidence emerged of abuse of Iraqi prisoners.

On Tuesday, US military police officer Lynndie England faces a hearing to determine if she will be tried on charges ranging from prisoner abuse to committing indecent acts. -Reuters