Two charges against Abu Ghraib officer dropped
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A military judge on Monday dismissed two charges against a U.S. Army intelligence officer charged with abuses at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison.
Lt. Col. Steven Jordan headed the interrogation center at the prison and is the highest-ranking person charged in the abuse scandal which came to light after pictures showed U.S. troops sexually humiliating detainees.
The dismissal of charges that Jordan made false statements to investigators and obstructed justice came at a hearing before the start of his court-martial at Fort Meade, Maryland, outside Washington, the Army said in a statement.
Jordan He still faces charges of cruelty and maltreatment of detainees, disobeying a superior officer and failure to obey orders, the statement said.
The charges stem from violations of the Uniformed Code of Military Justice alleged to have taken place at the Joint Interrogation Debriefing Center at Abu Ghraib on or about September 17, 2003 to August 19, 2004.
A lawyer for Jordan could not immediately be reached for comment.
An investigation of prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib carried out by Army Maj. Gen. Antonio Taguba in 2004 described Jordan as one of several directly or indirectly responsible.
A preponderance of evidence showed Jordan failed to prevent the unauthorized use of dogs and the humiliation of detainees kept naked for no acceptable purpose while he was a senior officer in charge, among other failings, Taguba said.
Between May 2004 and September 2005, seven U.S. troops were convicted of Abu Ghraib-related offenses, sentenced to prison and dishonorably discharged from service. Brig. Gen. Janis Karpinski, the commander of Abu Ghraib, was demoted to the rank of colonel in 2005. She denied knowledge of the abuses.
