US: US soldier Lynndie England was found guilty yesterday of abusing prisoners at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison in a scandal that caused international outrage.
She now faces a prison term of up to 10 years.
England, one of a group of reserve soldiers accused of abusing prisoners at Abu Ghraib, was found guilty by a military jury on six of seven charges, including maltreatment of prisoners. She was found not guilty on a conspiracy count.
In photographs published around the world, England, a young army reservist, was shown holding a naked Iraqi prisoner by a leash and pointing to an inmate's genitals.
England showed no visible reaction as she stood at attention to hear the verdict.
A military prosecutor said England humiliated prisoners because she enjoyed it and had a sick sense of humour, but her attorneys said she took part in the humiliation because of an overly compliant personality.
England's case was the latest in a series of prosecutions or plea bargains of low-level soldiers who served at Abu Ghraib. The military has also reprimanded some higher-ranking officers, and allegations have surfaced of hundreds of other cases of detainee abuse in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"The accused knew what she was doing," said Captain Chris Graveline, the lead prosecutor.
"She was laughing and joking. ... She is enjoying, she is participating, all for her own sick humour," he went on.
Captain Jonathan Crisp, England's lawyer, claimed that she was only trying to please her soldier boyfriend, then-Cpl Charles Graner Jr, who was labelled the abuse ringleader by prosecutors.
"She was a follower, she was an individual who was smitten with Graner," Mr Crisp said, adding: "She just did whatever he wanted her to do." England, from Fort Ashby, West Virginia, has said that Graner, now serving a 10-year sentence, fathered her young son.
The defence argued that England suffered from depression and that she has an overly compliant personality, making her a heedless participant in the abuse. - (Reuters, AP)
Five teachers and their driver were shot dead in a schoolroom south of Baghdad by gunmen in police uniforms, police spokesmen said yesterday.
The shooting took place at an elementary school in the village of Muelha, near the insurgent hotspot town of Iskandariya, about 50km (31 miles) south of the Iraqi capital. - (Guardian Service)