http://news.myway.com/top/article/id/423085|top|08-24-2004::08:28|reuters.html
Rumsfeld Need Not Testify Over Iraq Abuse - Judge
Aug 24, 8:09 AM (ET)
By Philip Blenkinsop
MANNHEIM, Germany (Reuters) - A U.S military judge ruled on Tuesday that Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld could not be forced to testify in the court martial of a sergeant accused of abusing Iraqi prisoners.
The photographs of smiling American soldiers tormenting naked detainees rocked the U.S. military when they emerged in April, prompting claims that policies adopted in President Bush's "war on terror" had encouraged the cruelty.
Sergeant Javal Davis, 26, is charged with assault, cruelty and maltreatment and conspiracy for offences that include jumping on a pile of detainees and stamping on prisoners' hands.
He is among four soldiers facing pre-trial hearings at a U.S. Army base in Germany.
"I fail to see a connection between this group and the authorities in Washington. I'm not saying there is no link, but you have not shown sufficient evidence," Judge James Pohl told Davis's lawyers.
Lawyers for the accused -- Staff Sergeant Ivan Frederick, Davis and Specialists Charles Graner and Megan Ambuhl -- argue their clients were following orders to break inmates systematically for interrogation.
One of Davis's lawyers, Paul Bergrin, referred to memos which showed Rumsfeld had approved hooding and stripping of prisoners, who could also be put in stress positions and subjected to "physical conduct."
"As insurgencies increased, the need for actionable intelligence increased. These techniques were approved by Donald Rumsfeld," Bergrin said.
WAYWARD INDIVIDUALS
U.S. officials say the accused were wayward individuals and their actions isolated ones.
Bergrin was among the defense lawyers who on Friday questioned four generals, including Major General Geoffrey Miller, former commander of the Guantanamo Bay detention center, and Major-General Barbara Fast, head of U.S. military intelligence in Iraq.
Bergrin, a forceful figure in court, said senior officers wanted useful intelligence and were prepared to humiliate and intimidate Iraqi detainees to that end.
Davis's team are seeking immunity for senior officers from the Abu Ghraib facility, to allow them to speak without incriminating themselves.
However, prosecutors said the officers could face charges for dereliction of duty and that immunity could not be granted.
Judge Pohl said he wanted clarification of any charges by mid-September, when a report by Major-General George Fay into the chain of command at the time is due to be released.
Pohl also denied a motion to suppress an initial statement Davis made about his involvement. Bergrin said Davis was too tired to comprehend his right not to speak after being woken up right after a 15-hour shift and interrogated for seven hours.
Davis, dressed in desert uniform, described his dismay as he arrived at the prison, with human and animal remains and excrement. He also told of extended shifts up a guard tower at the prison, where he was unable to sit for hours on end.
On Monday, lawyers for suspected ringleader Graner, who faces the most serious charges and who featured prominently in the abuse photos, sought to have his pending court martial moved from Baghdad, saying he had no chance of a fair trial there.
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