US soldier face court for Iraq prison abuse

Specialist Charles Graner is charged with cruelty and maltreatment, assault, conspiracy and dereliction of duty over the abuses at the notorious Abu Ghraib prison outside Baghdad.

In the opening session of the hearing in Mannheim, southwest Germany, Graner's military and civilian lawyers made submissions to have the court suppress a statement he made on January 14 to a military investigor.

They also tried to stop a computer used by Graner that was seized from being used in evidence in the court martial, for which no date has been set.

Graner, who sat impassively during the hearing, talking occasionally to his counsel, is one of four US soldiers to face the judge on Monday and Tuesday accused of humiliating Iraqi prisoners under their supervision.

The abuse was shown in souvenir-style photographs, taken by some of the accused and released by the media in April, which caused outrage around the world.

The prisoners were photographed naked, in itself deeply humiliating and particularly for Muslims, and being forced to perform sexual acts, piled naked in a pyramid, cowering from dogs or with electrodes attached to them.

The hearing, known as an Article 39a session, is a one-off procedure, and was moved to Germany following complaints about security from some of the defence lawyers.