Army files charges against ex-chief of Abu Ghraib unit

Washington: The Army filed 12 charges against the former head of the interrogation centre at Iraq's notorious Abu Ghraib prison, making him the highest-ranking officer to face criminal prosecution in the abuse scandal.

Only one of the charges accuses Lieutenant Colonel Steven L. Jordan of direct involvement in the abuse of Iraqi prisoners, alleging he subjected detainees "to forced nudity and intimidation by military working dogs."

The other charges largely mirror findings of an initial 2003 Army investigation into the prison by Major General Antonio M. Taguba, who found that Jordan misled investigators and was lax in his training and supervision of soldiers under his command. Those failures "resulted in the abuse of Iraqi detainees," Friday's charges state.

An Army spokesman said Jordan, an Army reservist who has been on active duty for 3 1/2 years, could face 42 years in prison if convicted on all charges. The lawyer assigned to his case did not return calls seeking comment.

The charges mark the first time a commissioned officer has been criminally charged in the Abu Ghraib case and is the latest sign legal pressure against senior officers tied to the abuse scandal is intensifying.

Last week, a military judge ordered Major General Geoffrey Miller, who was sent by the Pentagon from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to Iraq to improve intelligence gathering and interrogation techniques at Iraqi prisons, to testify at the court-martial of another soldier accused of abuses at Abu Ghraib next month.

Miller, who has invoked his rights against self-incrimination in the past, is expected to testify in what could be the most highly anticipated court appearance in the case to date.

The only other officer to be officially reprimanded thus far is Colonel Thomas M. Pappas, the commander of the military intelligence brigade at Abu Ghraib and Jordan's immediate superior, who was fined and relieved of his command, but not criminally charged.

Ten low-ranking soldiers have been convicted or pleaded guilty in the scandal, including dog handler Sergeant Michael J. Smith, who was convicted last month after Pappas, testifying under a grant of immunity, acknowledged he incorrectly approved the use of a military dog in a prison interrogation because he misunderstood guidelines put in place by his commanding officer.

When the prison abuse was made public in late 2004, it enraged Iraqis and the Muslim world and prompted Defence Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld to offer his resignation to President Bush twice.

In addition to the charge of cruelty to prisoners, Jordan was charged with two counts of disobeying orders, three counts of dereliction of duty, and four counts of either lying to investigators or interfering with their inquiry.

At Abu Ghraib, Jordan supervised the interrogation task force. According to accounts by those around him, he sometimes worked to exhaustion, losing his composure and contributing to the chaotic situation at the crowded, understaffed facility, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Although Jordan has invoked his right to avoid self-incrimination when called to testify in courts-martial of lower-ranking soldiers charged in connection with Abu Ghraib, his sworn statements claim that Pappas shouldered him with too much responsibility and failed to supervise him.

In Pappas's sworn statements, he called Jordan a "loner" and said, "I failed in not reigning him in."

Friday's charge sheet alleges that Jordan repeatedly lied to investigators about his involvement in the abuse case.

Jordan now faces a preliminary hearing akin to a grand jury session in a civilian court, but no date has been set for the hearing. If charged at the hearing, Jordan faces a court-martial.