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Military Charges Female GI in Abuse Photos
Saturday, May 08, 2004
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FORT BRAGG, N.C. — Army Reserve Pfc. Lynndie England (search), shown in photographs smiling and pointing at naked Iraqi prisoners, was charged Friday by the military with assaulting the detainees and conspiring to mistreat them.
England, 21, faces four allegations, according to a statement from the XVIII Airborne Corps (search) at Fort Bragg.
She is accused of "assaulting Iraqi detainees on multiple occasions;" conspiring with another soldier, Spc. Charles Graner (search), to mistreat the prisoners; committing an indecent act; and committing acts "that were prejudicial to good order and discipline and were of nature to bring discredit upon the armed forces through her mistreatment of Iraqi detainees."
England is seen smiling for the camera in one picture, cigarette in her mouth, as she leans forward and points at the genitals of a naked, hooded Iraqi. Another photo shows her holding a leash that encircles the neck of a naked Iraqi man lying on his side on a cellblock floor, his face contorted.
No lawyer has been appointed yet to represent England, according to Col. Billy Buckner, a spokesman for the division. She may also hire a civilian lawyer, he said.
The charges must be taken up in Article 32 investigation, a process similar to a civilian grand jury, before they can be sent to a general court-martial. Buckner said potential penalties could range from a reprimand to imprisonment and a punitive discharge.
Both England and Graner were members of the Army Reserve's 372nd Military Police Company, based in Cumberland, Md.
Her rank has previously been given as a specialist. The Army statement referred to her as a private first class; Buckner did not know whether she had been demoted.
England was reassigned to a military police unit at Fort Bragg (search) when she returned from Iraq and will continue her duties for the present, the Corps statement said. She was not in custody.
England's family said Friday that she is four months pregnant with Graner's child. Graner's attorney has said he faces a possible court-martial on criminal charges of maltreatment and indecent acts.
They have said she was a "paper pusher" in Iraq who processed inmates and only went to the prison to visit friends who worked there.
At a news conference Friday in their hometown of Fountain, W.Va., they insisted England was following orders.
"I don't believe my sister did what was in those photos," her sister Jessica Klinestiver said. "Certain people told her what to do. I believe they were posed."
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