Guilty Plea in Iraq

sfga6970 · 05-19-2004, 08:41

Any comments? Sivits Pleads Guilty in Iraq Abuse Trial

By ANTHONY DEUTSCH, Associated Press Writer

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Spc. Jeremy C. Sivits, at times struggling to hold back tears, pleaded guilty Wednesday to three counts of abuse in the first court-martial stemming from mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners at the Abu Ghraib prison.

AP Photo

Reuters

Sivits, who took pictures of naked Iraqi prisoners being humiliated at Abu Ghraib prison, told the court he saw one U.S. soldier punch one Iraqi in the head and other guards stomp on the hands and feet of detainees. He also recounted that prisoners were stripped and forced to form a human pyramid.

Expected to get a relatively light sentence and then testify against others, Sivits was found guilty of mistreating detainees, dereliction of duty for failing to protect them from abuse, cruelty and forcing a prisoner "to be positioned in a pile on the floor to be assaulted by other soldiers."

He could face up to one year in jail, reduction in rank, loss of pay and a bad conduct discharge.

Arab television stations appeared deeply skeptical of the proceedings, with reporters from the Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiya satellite networks questioning why cameras had been barred from the courtroom. Others demanded that higher ranking American officials be punished.

"Those who are executing the laws and the orders are not the problem ... Punishment of the officials who gave the orders is what matters," Samer al-Ubedi, who claimed his brother died in U.S. custody, told al-Jazeera. "The punishment must be as severe as the crime."

Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt, the chief military spokesman in Iraq (news - web sites), said a fair and impartial trial "will go a far way in demonstrating to people that, yes, these pictures did happen, yes, these acts did happen, but we're taking the right corrective action to investigate prosecute and bring to trial those accused of these crimes. "

Capt. Scott Dunn, Sivits' lawyer, entered the plea on his behalf and expressed concern about the huge media coverage of the trial, asking "can you make a fair decision?"

The judge, Col. James Pohl, replied: "Just because it's on TV, it doesn't mean it's true."

In an emotional description of the events that took place in the Abu Ghraib prison on the evening of Nov. 8, Sivits said he was asked by Staff Sgt. Ivan L. Frederick of Buckingham, Va., to accompany him to the prison facility. Sivits struggled to describe the events, pausing while telling the judge what happened.

He said he was on detail outside Abu Ghraib and had done some maintenance work on generators when Frederick asked him to accompany him to the prison. Sivits took a detainee with him and when he arrived at the scene where the crimes took place, there were seven other detainees there.

"I heard Cpl. Graner yelling in Arabic at the detainees," he said. "I saw one of the detainees lying on the floor. They were laying there on the floor, sandbags over their heads."

Sgt. Javal Davis, 26, of Maryland, and another soldier, Pfc. Lynndie England, 21, were "stamping on their toes and hands."

"Graner punched the detainee in the head or temple area," Sivits said. "I said. 'I think you might have knocked him out.'"

Sivits also said: "Graner complained that he had injured his hand and said, "****, that hurt."'

Sivits said all prisoners were then stripped and forced to form a human pyramid.

Sivits quoted one of the other six accused soldiers, whom he did not identify, as saying guards were "told to keep doing what they were doing by military intelligence." He added, however, that he did not believe the soldier.

Dunn, the defense lawyer, told the judge that Sivits had reached a pre-trial agreement with the prosecution, presumably to testify against others accused in the case.

In Sivits' tiny home town of Hyndman, Pa., more than 200 residents wore yellow ribbons and clutched small American flags during a candlelight vigil to support him.

His father, Daniel Sivits, made a brief statement.

"I want to make explicitly clear, Jeremy, no matter what, is still my son. We still love him," Daniel Sivits said. "I am veteran of the Vietnam war and I want to say one thing — Jeremy is always a vet in my heart and in my mind."

Earlier, three other accused — Davis, Frederick and Spc. Charles Graner Jr., of Uniontown, Pa. — appeared for arraignment in the courtroom at the Baghdad Convention Center, located in the heavily guarded Green Zone.

All three waived their right to have the charges read in court and deferred their pleas pending another hearing June 21.

The U.S. military allowed news coverage of the proceedings in the hope it will demonstrate American resolve to determine who was responsible for the abuse and punish the guilty.

Nine Arab newspapers and the prominent Arab television networks Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiya are among 34 news organizations being allowed to have reporters in the courtroom. No audio or TV recordings will be allowed in the courtroom, however.

On Wednesday, Human Rights Watch said that U.S. occupation authorities have refused to allow Iraqi and international human rights groups to attend the court martial.

"Barring human rights monitors from the court martial is a bad decision in its own right," Sarah Leah Whitson, executive director of Human Rights Watch Middle East and North Africa division, said in a statement. "It also sends a terrible signal to Iraqis and others deeply concerned about what transpired in Abu Ghraib."

The case has been closely followed by many of the 135,000 U.S. troops in Iraq — with varied opinions.

"If these people are guilty, it should come out," Marine Gunnery Sgt. Tracey Reddish, 34, of Jessup, Ga., said. "Court-martials are very fair."

Another Marine, Lance Cpl. Kyle Morgan, 20, of Beaumont, Texas, said the case was pushed by "the people in Washington sitting in their cushy chairs, judging our men here who are trying to save lives ... But the politicians are just worried about their own necks."

The scandal broke last month with the broadcast and publication of pictures of prisoners suffering sexual humiliation and other brutality at the hands of American MPs serving as guards at Abu Ghraib.

The pictures generated a wave of international outrage and called into question the Bush administration's moral standing in its campaign to bring democracy to Iraq.

One photo showed a naked, hooded prisoner on a box with wires fastened to his hands and genitals. According to Fredericks' indictment, the detainee had been told he would be electrocuted if he touched the ground.

Another picture showed a female MP holding a leash attached to the neck of a naked prisoner on the floor. The International Committee of the Red Cross, which inspects prisons in Iraq and elsewhere, issued a report on conditions at Abu Ghraib that said some acts against detainees were "tantamount to torture." It said the abuse included brutality, forcing people to wear hoods, humiliation and threats of execution. The report also said intelligence officers of the U.S.-led coalition had told Red Cross officials that up to 90 percent of Iraqi detainees had been arrested by mistake.

AndJusticeForAll · 05-19-2004, 09:15

Looks like he's smart enough to just throw himself at the mercy of the court.

It's probably a good move for him.

sfga6970 · 05-19-2004, 09:28

Quote:

Originally Posted by AndJusticeForAll

Looks like he's smart enough to just throw himself at the mercy of the court.

It's probably a good move for him.

I agree! Since he is the first, he can be a witness and corroborate the illegal activities for a reduced sentence. He may get just a BCD, reduction in rank and forfeiture of pay with no jail time. He knew he was nailed, so opt for the best way out of a bad situation.

sfga6970 · 05-19-2004, 10:17

Looks like the plea didn't help!!

Sivits to Serve Jail Time for Iraqi Abuse

BAGHDAD, Iraq - A special court-martial Wednesday sentenced Spc. Jeremy C. Sivits to a maximum penalty of one year in prison, reduction in rank and a bad conduct discharge for his role in the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse case. Sivits apologized to the Iraqi people.

AP Photo

AFP

"I'd like to apologize to the Iraqi people and those detainees," Sivits said, breaking down in tears as he made his statement. "I should have protected those detainees, not taken the photos."

"I have learned huge lessons, sir," he added. "You can't let people abuse people like they have done."

His lawyer, 1st Lt. Stanley Martin, had appealed to the judge, Col. James Pohl, to be lenient, saying Sivits could be rehabilitated and had made a contribution to society in the past.

Sivits, who pleaded guilty to three abuse charges, took pictures of naked Iraqi prisoners being humiliated at Abu Ghraib prison.

He told the court he saw one U.S. soldier punch one Iraqi in the head and other guards stomp on the hands and feet of detainees. He also recounted that prisoners were stripped and forced to form a human pyramid.

"I wanted to help the people of Iraq (news - web sites)," Sivits said. "You've got to stand up for what's right. I'm truly sorry for what I've done."

Prosecutors had asked the judge to impose the harshest sentence despite Sivits' willingness to provide details about the crimes of other defendants, saying that Sivits himself knew that abuse was banned by the Geneva Conventions.

Defense witnesses testified to what they said was his good character.

Sgt. Dennis Boyd, who has known Sivits for four to five years, said he was "good work, good soldier, good kid. He was the `go-to guy,' the one to get the job done, and the one I could trust."

Sivits pleaded with the judge to allow him to remain in the army, which he said had been his life's goal.

Woodmonkey · 05-19-2004, 11:57

I'm glad this is getting started. It's causing our soldiers problems which they don't need and it must be done to show we don't condone it. They also have to nail some officers who were in the chain and should have been on top of things.

Quote:

Arab television stations appeared deeply skeptical of the proceedings, with reporters from the Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiya satellite networks questioning why cameras had been barred from the courtroom. Others demanded that higher ranking American officials be punished.

"Those who are executing the laws and the orders are not the problem ... Punishment of the officials who gave the orders is what matters," Samer al-Ubedi, who claimed his brother died in U.S. custody, told al-Jazeera. "The punishment must be as severe as the crime."

These people disgust me. Where were they went Hussein et all was ripping out tongues, putting people through shredders, raping mothers/daughters/wives in front of the men, gassing the Kurds, etc? Where was their outrage and calls for justice? Where were their calls for high ranking Iraqis who gave the orders to be punished?

As for the human rights peoples' demands, where were they when it was Iraqis' doing much much worse?

sfga6970 · 05-19-2004, 12:09

Quote:

Originally Posted by Woodmonkey

These people disgust me. Where were they went Hussein et all was ripping out tongues, putting people through shredders, raping mothers/daughters/wives in front of the men, gassing the Kurds, etc? Where was their outrage and calls for justice? Where were their calls for high ranking Iraqis who gave the orders to be punished?

As for the human rights peoples' demands, where were they when it was Iraqis' doing much much worse?

The difference is the that the Iraqis now have a taste of freedom and are willing to protest what is happening. Before, if they had said anything they would have been in the same place as those they were protesting for. Any call for the punishment of Iraqi leaders would probably have ended up in torture or execution for them.

As for the human rights people, they holler and protest to get into the media, but they really don't do very much except agitate everyone else. It's easy to protest when you're here safe in the US. How many of them conducted rallies in Baghdad when Saddam was in power?