HAGERSTOWN, Md. – The only U.S. military officer charged with a crime in the Abu Ghraib scandal will be court-martialed on eight charges, including cruelty and maltreatment of prisoners, the Army said Friday.
Lt. Col. Steven Lee Jordan, a 50-year-old reservist from Virginia who ran the interrogation center at the Iraqi prison, was accused of failing to exert his authority as the place descended into chaos, with prisoners stripped naked, photographed in humiliating poses and intimidated by snarling dogs. He was also charged with lying to investigators.
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He has not been accused of personally torturing or humiliating prisoners, and was not pictured in any of the photos that embarrassed the Pentagon and shocked the Muslim world.
Army spokesman Col. Jim Yonts told The Associated Press that Maj. Gen. Guy C. Swann, commander of the Military District of Washington, decided Jordan must stand trial.
Jordan was charged in April with 12 offenses. Swann dismissed four of them after Jordan was given an Article 32 hearing, the military equivalent of a civilian preliminary hearing, in October.
Besides cruelty and maltreatment, the charges include disobeying a superior officer, willful dereliction of duty and making false statements.
Jordan's military lawyers did not immediately return calls for comment.
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