Second US Army dog handler faces prison abuse trial
Close-up photographs of a bloody leg are part of the US government’s arsenal as it tries to convict an Army dog handler of abusing detainees at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.
Sgt Santos Cardona is accused of letting his tan Belgian shepherd, Duco, bite detainee Mohammed Bollendia on the leg badly enough to require stitches, according to charge sheets and investigators’ reports.
At the trial in Fort Meade, Maryland, Cardona is also accused of using his dog to harass and threaten another detainee, Kamel Miza’l Nayil, in violation of the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
A jury was chosen yesterday for Cardona’s trial at Fort Meade, between Baltimore and Washington. Opening statements were set for today, starting.
Cardona, 32, of Fullerton, California, is charged with assault, dereliction of duty, maltreatment of detainees, conspiracy to maltreat detainees and lying to investigators in late 2003 and early 2004
He faces up to 16 and a half years in prison if convicted on all counts.
Defence lawyer Harvey Volzer contends the aggressive use of dogs was sanctioned high up the chain of command.
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