| Dog handlers sanctioned by chain of command { May 23 2006 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/23/AR2006052300236.htmlhttp://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/23/AR2006052300236.html
Abuse Trial Opens for 2nd Army Dog Handler
By DAVID DISHNEAU The Associated Press Tuesday, May 23, 2006; 5:02 AM
FORT MEADE, Md. -- Close-up photos of a bloody leg are part of the government's arsenal as it tries to convict an Army dog handler of abusing detainees at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.
Sgt. Santos A. 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.
Cardona also is 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 Monday for Cardona's trial at Fort Meade, between Baltimore and Washington. Opening statements were set for Tuesday.
Cardona, 32, of Fullerton, Calif., 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 1/2 years in prison if convicted on all counts.
Defense attorney Harvey J. Volzer contends the aggressive use of dogs was sanctioned high up the chain of command as the Pentagon tried to expand the use of some interrogation and intimidation techniques that human-rights advocates have criticized at the prison camp in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
On Monday, prosecutors were looking for a government witness who failed to appear. She is former Army specialist Megan M. Ambuhl Graner, one of the first soldiers criminally charged in the Abu Ghraib scandal.
Graner, who pleaded guilty to dereliction of duty in October 2004, was subpoenaed to testify against Cardona, said Maj. Christopher Graveline, the lead prosecutor.
Volzer, who also represented Graner, said outside the courtroom that the subpoena was improperly prepared. The judge, Marine Lt. Col. Paul H. McConnell, gave prosecutors until Tuesday morning to show that the subpoena was properly served. If so, Graveline said he may seek to enforce it by asking a federal judge to send U.S. marshals to find and bring her to court.
The defense witness list also includes Graner's husband, former Cpl. Charles Graner Jr., who is serving a 10-year prison term at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., for his conviction as a leader of the abuses at Abu Ghraib. The couple married after the scandal broke.
Megan Graner, of Centreville, Va., was discharged from the Army without prison time.
Cardona, who was assigned to the 42nd Military Police Detachment at Fort Bragg, N.C., is the second Army dog-handler charged in the scandal. Sgt. Michael J. Smith, of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., was convicted at a court-martial in March of maltreatment, conspiracy, dereliction and an indecent act; he received a six month sentence.
© 2006 The Associated Press
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