Soldier’s Trial in Abuse of Inmates to Proceed

A U.S. military court judge Tuesday rejected a motion that sought a new Article 32 investigation into allegations that Staff Sgt. Ivan L. “Chip” Frederick II abused inmates at the Abu Ghraib prison.

Ordering a new Article 32 investigation, the military equivalent of a grand jury inquiry, would have been tantamount to dropping the charges against Frederick, one of seven soldiers accused in the scandal.

The judge, Col. James Pohl, rejected the motion during a pretrial hearing Tuesday.

In another case related to the prison, the military said Tuesday that U.S. officials investigating an Iraqi inmate’s death this month at Abu Ghraib have determined that he died of a heart attack.

The findings were based on an autopsy after the man’s death June 10, the U.S. command said in a statement.

“At the time of his death, the 52-year-old male was being treated for heart-related problems,” the statement said. “He had been held as a security internee since October for offering a reward to anybody who would kill a U.S. soldier.”

The man’s body will be handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross, and then to Iraq’s interim government, the command said.

The military earlier said that the man had not been interrogated since his arrival.