Abu Ghraib Dog-Handler’s Trial Begins
A jury was chosen Monday in the court-martial of a military dog-handler charged with abusing detainees at Iraq’s Abu Ghraib prison.
Sgt. Santos A. Cardona, 32, is accused of allowing his Belgian shepherd to bite a detainee on the leg badly enough to require stitches and of harassing and threatening another detainee in violation of military code.
Defense attorney Harvey J. Volzer contends the aggressive use of dogs was sanctioned high up the chain of command.
Opening statements were set for today. Cardona is charged with assault, dereliction of duty, maltreatment of detainees, conspiracy to maltreat detainees and lying to investigators in late 2003 and early 2004.
Volzer says he plans to call U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Geoffrey Miller, former commander of Guantanamo Bay, to testify about interrogation techniques.
Cardona, who was assigned to the 42nd Military Police Detachment at Ft. Bragg, N.C., is the second Army dog-handler charged in the scandal.
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