US military high court upholds convictions of Abu Ghraib soldiers for abusing detainees

Military high court upholds Abu Ghraib convictions

HAGERSTOWN, Md. — The U.S. military’s highest court has upheld the convictions of two soldiers for abusing Abu Ghraib prison detainees in Iraq.

In opinions released Friday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces in Washington affirmed the conviction of former Army Spc. Sabrina Harman, who helped place a hooded detainee atop a box with wires in his hands. He was told he would be electrocuted if he fell off.

Harman, of Lorton, Va., also was photographed giving a smiling “thumbs-up” beside a pyramid of naked detainees.

The court found no errors by the judge who presided over the court-martial of former Sgt. Michael Smith, an Army dog handler.

Smith, of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., was convicted of offenses that included letting his Belgian shepherd bark and lunge at prisoners for his own amusement.