Army Closes Hearing on Accused Soldiers (Alleged Killers of Iraqi General

[Khephra]

FORT CARSON, Colo. -- Citing national security, the Army closed a hearing Thursday on whether three soldiers will be court-martialed for allegedly suffocating an Iraqi general during an interrogation last year.

Allowing the public and the media to observe "would cause serious damage to national security" and could jeopardize the defendants' safety, investigating officer Capt. Robert Ayers said.

The Article 32 hearing, the military equivalent of a preliminary hearing, began shortly afterward.

An attorney for The Denver Post had argued that the closing of the proceedings should be limited to testimony that could threaten national security.

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-ap-prisoner-abuse-fort-carson,0,2125164.story?coll=sns-ap-nation-headlines