A United States Army dog handler who was court-martialed for abusing Iraqi inmates at Abu Ghraib prison has been stopped from proceeding with his unit to Iraq, the army said.
WASHINGTON: A United States Army dog handler who was court-martialed for abusing Iraqi inmates at Abu Ghraib prison has been stopped from proceeding with his unit to Iraq, the army said.
The army announced the action on Friday after Time magazine reported on Thursday that Specialist Santos Cardona, 32, has been ordered to return to Iraq after serving his sentence.
"His forward movement into Iraq with his unit has been stopped by commanders on the ground and his situation is being evaluated," the army said.
Cardona had deployed October 30 from Fort Bragg, North Carolina with the 23rd Military Police Company and made it to Kuwait before the commanders intervened, the army said.
"Specialist Cardona was taken out of the canine unit and placed in a line platoon. His specific duties have not yet been determined," it said.
Cardona was sentenced in June to hard labour without confinement for 90 days, demoted one rank and docked $7,200 by a military court.
Time said Cardona's military police company would be training Iraqi police.
"The symbolic message perceived in Iraq will likely be that the US is simply insensitive to the abuse of their prisoners," retired US general Barry McCaffrey told Time.
The Abu Ghraib scandal erupted in 2004 after photographs were leaked to the press showing US guards mistreating and sexually humiliating prisoners. Some pictures showed naked inmates cowering in front of unmuzzled dogs.
The military court found Cardona guilty of dereliction of duty and aggravated assault in connection with the use of unmuzzled dogs.
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