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Soldier’s Attorney: Abu Ghraib Abuse 'Systemic Problem'

HeadlineAug 04, 2004

Meanwhile in other prison abuse news, the attorney for Private Lynndie England said yesterday she was acting under orders from superiors when she abused Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib. England appeared in photographs pointing at prisoners genitals and holding a naked Iraqi detainee on a leash. Her attorney Richard Hernandez told the Los Angeles Times that the government was holding a few rank-and-file soldiers accountable for a “systemic problem” in Iraq. He said it was “far from the truth” that interrogators and senior officers were not aware of what was happening at Abu Ghraib. The 21-year-old England faces 19 charges of mistreatment and neglect of duty. If convicted, she could receive a maximum punishment of 38 years in prison. Also during the hearing at Fort Bragg military officials revealed that the Iraqi prisoners abused by U.S. soldiers at Abu Ghraib prison held no intelligence value.

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