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FORT BRAGG, Aug 6: Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison was hell, a dangerous place staffed by poorly trained guards and short on such basics as soap, a US soldier testified on Friday.
The testimony drew a disturbing picture of peril and turmoil at the jail near Baghdad on the fourth day of a military court hearing to determine if Pfc. Lynndie England, the female soldier photographed holding a naked Iraqi prisoner on a leash, will stand trial for prisoner abuse.
The abuse scandal shocked the world and hampered US efforts to stabilize Iraq. Sgt. Hydrue Joyner, a member of Lynndie England's 372nd Military Police Company, called Abu Ghraib hell and said he considered it a highly dangerous place when he arrived in October because "the whole prison system was corrupt".
The plain-spoken soldier described a prison painfully short on supplies where he handed out personal items from his own "Care" packages from home because the place smelled. Prisoner jumpsuits were scarce and male inmates were given underwear meant for women inmates because it was the only thing available.
The testimony backed the contention of Lynndie England's lawyers that Abu Ghraib was an unruly prison where inmates were often kept naked, guards were not trained and abuse complaints were ignored. England has said she was just following orders to soften up detainees for questioning.
Joyner said he and many colleagues had no training as prison guards when they went to Abu Ghraib and worked minimum 12-hour days there. "No one knew what we were supposed to do. Basically I was shooting from the hip and hoping to God I didn't screw up," he said.
THE 'RINGLEADER': Another soldier testified on Friday he had heard of a prisoner who died during interrogation being kept on ice in a shower stall. On Thursday, a witness testified she had heard of a liquor and prostitution ring at Abu Ghraib.
The court also heard testimony from Staff. Sgt. Joseph Darby, who turned over the prisoner abuse photos to military criminal investigators. He said he got them from CDs given to him by Spc. Charles Graner, who has been described as the "ringleader" of abuse at Abu Ghraib.
Graner and England are among seven military police charged in the prison scandal. Press reports indicate Graner is the father of the pregnant England's child. Darby said he struggled with the decision to turn the photos over to military officials because Graner was a friend.
What he saw on the CDs, he said, "violated everything I personally believed in and everything I had been taught about the rules of war." Darby also related an incident in which Graner showed him an image on a video camera of a prisoner standing naked, hooded and handcuffed in a cell.
"He said, 'The Christian in me knows this is wrong but the corrections officer in me can't help but make a grown man piss himself,'" Darby quoted Graner as saying.
England is charged with 19 counts of prisoner abuse, committing indecent acts and disobeying orders. She faces up to 38 years in prison if convicted. Her lawyers repeated a request to call to the witness stand some top US military officials, including Lt Gen Ricardo Sanchez, Maj Gen Geoffrey Miller, and Brig Gen Janis Karpinski. No ruling was made on the request.
SPECIAL AGENTS: Army special agents Manora Iem and Tyler Pieron, who investigated the abuse allegations at Abu Ghraib, testified by telephone at the hearing on Thursday.
Manora Iem said he had interviewed Iraqis who had been victims of abuse, which occurred at the prison near Baghdad late last year. During interviews "they had described a soldier who fit the description of Specialist England", Iem said, adding that mistreatment "started usually during the evening time", when Graner, England's boyfriend, was in charge of the cell block.
Pieron said he had spoken with Private Joseph Darby, who has been credited with bringing the abuse at Abu Ghraib to the attention of his superiors, resulting in a military investigation and crackdown.
"It was my impression talking to Darby, that Graner was the ringleader of the abuse," said Pieron. "I believe Darby was afraid of him (Graner)." Another witness on Thursday was Captain Brent Fitch, a legal adviser to the military intelligence commander at Abu Ghraib, Colonel Thomas Pappas.
Fitch said that on a visit to the prison one day he had seen a detainee naked in his cell. He said he was very concerned but a guard reassured him that it was only because the prisoner's clothes were being washed.
Fitch said he cautioned the guard however saying "if the ICRC (International Committee of the Red Cross) ever sees this it would not be good news". Captain Fitch also said he saw one or two requests a week concerning the use of interrogation techniques which went beyond the normal rules of engagement. -AFP
