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During the period reviewed here, there were multiple proceedings under the U.S. Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) involving alleged abuses committed against persons in Afghanistan and Iraq protected by international humanitarian law.1 According to an army spokesman in January 2006, the U.S. Army has opened more than 500 inquiries involving allegations of detainee abuse in Afghanistan and Iraq, and has brought judicial or administrative proceedings against 251 officers and enlisted personnel.2 The U.S. Department of Justice is also reported to be investigating 20 cases involving abuses by civilian U.S. personnel not subject to the UCMJ, but only one of these cases has resulted in an indictment.3 Reported cases involving military personnel included the following:
* In September 2005, in a widely reported case, PFC Lynndie England, a reservist appearing in several notorious photographs of prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib prison, was convicted in her second court-martial of six of seven charges, including four counts of maltreating prisoners. She was sentenced to three years' imprisonment and a dishonorable discharge.4 In a separate proceeding involving an enlisted soldier at Abu Ghraib, Specialist Sabrina Harman was convicted of multiple charges in May 2005 and sentenced to six months and a dishonorable discharge.5
* At least fourteen soldiers, including reserve military policemen from Ohio and Indiana and military interrogators from an intelligence unit from Fort Bragg, have been investigated or charged in connection with abuse of prisoners at Bagram Prison in Afghanistan, including the deaths of two prisoners in 2002. At least seven enlisted soldiers have pleaded guilty or been convicted; several others have been acquitted or had charges dropped for lack of evidence. In May 2005, a specialist pleaded guilty to assault charges and was sentenced to three months' imprisonment. Two other soldiers were subsequently acquitted after a witness failed to provide convincing identifications.6 At least three intelligence interrogators pleaded guilty to, or were convicted of, abusing detainees.7 However, in January 2006, criminal charges against the only commissioned officer who had been charged-the captain commanding the military police company at the prison-were dropped for lack of evidence.8 The deaths of prisoners at Bagram have led to questions regarding the adequacy of the army's investigations and regarding the training and supervision of personnel assigned there.9
* In a...