05 June 2006
Abu Ghraib Dog Handler Convicted, Sentenced to Hard Labor, Fined
Separately, U.S. investigation exonerates coalition forces in Ishaqi incident
Washington -- A U.S. Army sergeant has been convicted of using a dog to torment a prisoner at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison two years ago.
Santos A. Cardona was found guilty of aggravated assault and dereliction of duty by a military jury June 1. Cardona’s military rank will be reduced as part of his punishment, according to media reports, and his sentence also includes 90 days of hard labor and a $7,200 fine.
Cardona is the 11th U.S. soldier to be convicted of crimes committed at Abu Ghraib during late 2003 and early 2004. He was assigned to a military police detachment, and is the second Army dog handler to be charged in the prison abuse scandal.
Cardona was court-martialed at Fort Meade, Maryland, by a panel of four officers and three enlisted personnel. panel found sufficient evidence to conclude that Cardona had allowed a Belgian shepherd dog under his control to bark within inches of a prisoner's face, although that treatment did not occur while the detainee was being interrogated, according to media reports.
OTHER INVESTIGATIONS
In a separate probe, U.S. military investigators looking into an incident in which a known terrorist and Iraqi civilians died has found that attacking coalition forces acted properly, according to a spokesman in Baghdad, Iraq.
Army Major General William Caldwell, spokesman for Multi-National Force - Iraq, said June 3 that on March 15 near Ishaqi, south of the city of Samarra, coalition forces conducting a raid on a suspected insurgent safe house came under fire from within the building. When gunfire continued, the commander on the scene reacted appropriately "by incrementally escalating the use of force from small-arms fire to rotary wing aviation, and then to close air support," Caldwell said.
"Allegations that the troops executed a family living in this safe house, and then hid the alleged crimes by directing an air strike, are absolutely false," Caldwell added.
Afterward, coalition troops searched the rubble and found the bodies of three civilians, as well as the body of Iraqi Uday Faris al-Tawafi, also known as Abu Ahmed, whom Caldwell described as having been involved in making bombs and recruiting local insurgents. Kuwaiti Ahmad Abdallah Muhammad Na’is al-Utaybi, also called Hamza, an al-Qaida cell leader, also was captured during the raid.
The military investigation determined that as many as nine civilian deaths may have been caused in the engagement, but the subsequent collapse of the building prevented precise accounting.
"All loss of innocent life is tragic and unfortunate," Caldwell said, "and we regret such occurrences." All reports of improper conduct are taken seriously and are investigated thoroughly, he added. Coalition troops are held accountable for their actions, he said.
Meanwhile, military investigations into the behavior of other U.S. personnel in Iraq continue. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Peter Pace said it could be weeks before results on the investigation in Hadithah, and elsewhere, are known. (See related article.)
Caldwell's statement can be found on the Multi-National Force - Iraq Web site.
(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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