Prison Abuse Lawyers to Question Generals

[NMDemDist2]

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Defense lawyers for soldiers on trial in the Iraqi prisoner abuse case won permission Monday to question two top U.S. generals, and the military judge ordered that the Abu Ghraib prison not be torn down because it is a crime scene.


The judge also refused to move the trials of Spc. Charles A. Graner Jr., Sgt. Javal S. Davis and Staff Sgt. Ivan L. "Chip" Frederick II outside Iraq (news - web sites).


The judge, Col. James Pohl, left open the possibility of calling other senior figures if the defense could show their testimony was relevant — which Guy Womack, the civilian lawyer for Graner, said the lawyers intended to do.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=540&ncid=716&e=6&u=/ap/20040621/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_prisoner_abuse

[G_j]

1. AP Story

(this is good news!)


<http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/ny-bc-nj--prisonerabuse-dav0621jun21,0,3285101.story?coll=ny-ap-regional-wire>

Soldier's lawyer wins right to question top commanders


by WAYNE PARRY
Associated Press Writer

June 21, 2004, 12:18 PM EDT


ROSELLE, N.J. -- Lawyers for a former New Jersey reservist charged in the Iraq prisoner abuse case won the right Monday to question top United States military commanders about whether they had approved or encouraged the type of harsh treatment used on detainees at the Abu Ghraib prison.

In his New Jersey hometown, Sgt. Javal S. Davis' father said President Bush knew the type of tactics low-level soldiers were ordered to use against detainees at the Abu Ghraib prison, and said his son's lawyers should be allowed to question the president and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld under oath.

At a preliminary court-martial hearing in Baghdad, Paul Bergrin, Davis' civilian lawyer, won the right to seek testimony from the top U.S. general in Iraq, Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, and the chief of the U.S. Central Command, Gen. John Abazaid.

Bergrin and lawyers for two others who had hearings Monday _ Spc. Charles A. Graner Jr. and Staff Sgt. Ivan L. "Chip" Frederick II _ indicated they would try to interview President Bush and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

..more..

[hang a left]

2. What are the chances these two assholes will tell the truth.

Could it not be more damamging to their case.

'At a preliminary court-martial hearing in Baghdad, Paul Bergrin, Davis' civilian lawyer, won the right to seek testimony from the top U.S. general in Iraq, Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, and the chief of the U.S. Central Command, Gen. John Abazaid.'

[struggle4progress]

3. Bush wanted on stand in abuse trial

A lawyer defending a US soldier charged with abusing prisoners in Iraq has said he would seek to put US President George Bush and Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld on the witness stand.

Bush and Rumsfeld sidestepped the Geneva Convention in their "war on terror", civilian defence counsel Paul Bergrin said on Monday.
<snip>

Bergrin said his client, Sergeant Javal Davis, was instructed on a daily basis to soften up Iraqi prisoners to obtain intelligence.

"Bush gave a speech declaring his war on terror and said the Geneva Convention no longer applied," Bergrin told reporters after an impassioned address in the courtroom.
<snip>

http://www.matamat.com/fullstory.php?gd=35&cd=2004-06-22

[janx]

4. A judge has declared Abu Ghraib a crime scene.

There's an article floating around that includes this bit of information as well.

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/world/ny-woabus0622,0,1943343.story?coll=ny-world-big-pix

[UpInArms]

5. related article: U.S. Commanders Ordered to Provide Prison Testimony

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A57125-2004Jun21.html

Tuesday, June 22, 2004; Page A01

BAGHDAD, June 21 -- A U.S. Army judge on Monday agreed to a request by attorneys of soldiers accused of abusing detainees in Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison to question the commander of U.S. military forces in the Middle East, as well as several other top commanders and their subordinates.

The order by Col. James Pohl effectively compels the commanders to submit to interviews unless they invoke their constitutional rights against self- incrimination. It names Gen. John P. Abizaid, who heads the U.S. Central Command and supervises operations in the region; Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, the commander of U.S. forces in Iraq; Lt. Gen. Thomas Metz, Sanchez's immediate subordinate; Maj. Gen. Geoffrey D. Miller, deputy commander of detention operations in Iraq; and Maj. Gen. Barbara Fast, the top military intelligence officer in Iraq.

In addition, the order requires others serving under the five Army generals to be made available for interviews.

By allowing the interviews, Pohl appeared to signal a willingness to explore what is emerging as the main line of defense for the seven soldiers accused of abusing and humiliating detainees at Abu Ghraib: That the abusive tactics used at the prison were not only condoned by their commanders but part of their orders.

...more...