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Sabrina Harman Abuse Trial Set for Thursday

By Jeralyn, Section War In Iraq
Posted on Wed May 11, 2005 at 08:58:49 AM EST
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Barring a last minute plea bargain, the final Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse trial is set to begin tomorrow. The Judge is hearing motions today on whether to exclude evidence.

The 27-year-old reservist is accused of writing "rapeist" on the leg of one prisoner and forcing another to stand on a box with wires in his hands and telling him he would be electrocuted if he fell. In the photo, he is shown perched on a small box, with his hands outstretched.

In another photo, Harman gives a thumbs-up while posing with the corpse of an Iraqi detainee allegedly beaten by Navy SEALs at Abu Ghraib who later died while being interrogated by CIA agents.

Harman is charged with conspiracy to maltreat detainees, maltreating detainees and dereliction of duty. She faces up to six and a half years. Some of our coverage of the case can be found here and here. The most serious charge against her pertaining to indecent acts was dropped by the Judge.

The detainee in the thumbs-up photo with Harman was Manadel al-Jamadi. He died after being hung from his wrists. Some navy commandos, but not Harman, were charged in causing his death.

In March, the judge refused to dismiss other charges against Harman.

Her lawyers tried to get some charges dismissed on the ground that the prisoners weren't really injured because they had sandbags on their head and didn't know they were being photographed.

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    Sabrina Harman Abuse Trial Set for Thursday | 19 comments (19 topical)
    Re: Sabrina Harman Abuse Trial Set for Thursday (none / 0) (#1)
    by ppjakajim on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:58:58 PM EST
    "Harman gives a thumbs-up while posing with the corpse of an Iraqi detainee" Ghoulish perhaps. Poor taste for sure. Criminal? No.

    Re: Sabrina Harman Abuse Trial Set for Thursday (none / 0) (#2)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:58:58 PM EST
    Tell that to the detainee's family.

    Re: Sabrina Harman Abuse Trial Set for Thursday (none / 0) (#3)
    by Sailor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:58:58 PM EST
    Specific incidents of alleged abuse by Harman include writing "rapeist" on the leg of one detainee and forcing another to stand on a box with wires in his hands and telling him he would be electrocuted if he fell off. She is also accused of taking photographs of a group of naked detainees who had been ordered to masturbate.
    extreme mental distress and humiliation ARE crimes: For the purposes of this Convention, torture means any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person and from the GenCon: (Art 13): "Prisoners of war must at all times be humanely treated." (Art 13): "...Prisoners of war must at all times be protected, particularly against acts of violence or intimidation and against insults and public curiosity." (Art 17): "No physical or mental torture, nor any other form of coercion, may be inflicted on prisoners of war to secure from them information of any kind whatever. Prisoners of war who refuse to answer may not be threatened, insulted or exposed to unpleasant or disadvantageous treatment of any kind." (Art 25): "Prisoners of war shall be quartered under conditions as favourable as those for the forces of the Detaining Power who are billeted in the same area." (Art 27): "Clothing, underwear and footwear shall be supplied to prisoners of war"

    Re: Sabrina Harman Abuse Trial Set for Thursday (none / 0) (#4)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:58:58 PM EST
    I would prefer not to be going to trial with those photos of my smiling face. Hence the number of guilty pleas in this matter.

    Re: Sabrina Harman Abuse Trial Set for Thursday (none / 0) (#5)
    by ppjakajim on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:58:58 PM EST
    mfox - Ghoulish and poor taste isn't criminal or a lot of people who attend executions would be in jail. Sailor - First, define severe. And... Problem is, these people are not protected by the GC. So they are getting what we want to give. Now we may have been too harsh in some cases, and some people are going to jail. But not because the GC was violated. Article 5 - "The present Convention shall apply to the persons referred to in Article 4 from the time they fall into the power of the enemy and until their final release and repatriation. Should any doubt arise as to whether persons, having committed a belligerent act and having fallen into the hands of the enemy, belong to any of the categories enumerated in Article 4, such persons shall enjoy the protection of the present Convention until such time as their status has been determined by a competent tribunal." No doubt, no protection. Doubt, a tribunal.

    Re: Sabrina Harman Abuse Trial Set for Thursday (none / 0) (#6)
    by john horse on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:58:58 PM EST
    PPJ, What do you mean "no doubt no protection"? Under the Geneva Convention, if you are being held, you are either a POW, a civilian or an unlawful combatant. Unlawful combatant is defined as anyone who engages in combat without meeting the requirements for a lawful combatant according to the laws of war as specified in the Third Geneva Convention. Almost all activity by insurgents would fit this category. A country does not have to accord unlawful combatants the rights of POWs under the 3rd Geneva Convention, but unlawful combatants do retain rights under the 4th Geneva Convention, specifically, they must be "treated with humanity and, in case of trial, shall not be deprived of the rights of fair and regular trial". Nowhere in the Geneva Convention does it allow for inhumane treatment of any group. As a matter of fact, thats one of the main reasons it was written.

    Re: Sabrina Harman Abuse Trial Set for Thursday (none / 0) (#7)
    by Dadler on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:58:58 PM EST
    Doing anything with a dead body, in a prison situation like that, besides safely and properly taking care of it, is a crime. Dead bodies are bio-hazards. Here at home you can't just keep a dead body around to play with, you'll get charged.

    Re: Sabrina Harman Abuse Trial Set for Thursday (none / 0) (#8)
    by Che's Lounge on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:58:58 PM EST
    Jim needs to be reminded that that man in the picture was beaten to death by coalition forces.

    Re: Sabrina Harman Abuse Trial Set for Thursday (none / 0) (#9)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:58:58 PM EST
    Ghoulish perhaps. Poor taste for sure. Criminal? No. Sure, it's not criminal. Why should this be criminal when it is perfectly ok for us to drop cluster bombs on civilians in the name of regional control of oil production / transport. I'll be sure to console you with the same words should someone attempt this at your next relative's funeral. I'm sure that if it were the driver of the Hearse who was giving the thumbs up, that you wouldn't look to hold the Funeral Home accountable either...

    Re: Sabrina Harman Abuse Trial Set for Thursday (none / 0) (#10)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:58:58 PM EST
    Link here.
    "Harman is a graduate of Robert E. Lee High School in Springfield. She was an assistant manager at a Papa John's Pizza in Fairfax County, Virginia."
    I know this is going to sound farfetched, but is it possible that she may have learned to devalue other cultures growing up in Virginia and attending "Robert E. Lee High School"? Surely not. You just never know about those everyday people you see here in America, do you...what they're capable of given the right set of tools and circumstances. I know, know. Rotten to the core and created like that from birth, since we KNOW that nobody could possibly be a product of their environment -- that kind of "external" attribution is always false, right?

    Re: Sabrina Harman Abuse Trial Set for Thursday (none / 0) (#11)
    by john horse on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:58:58 PM EST
    Not all conservatives are apologists for the Abu Ghraib scandal. Excellent column from Orland Sentinal columnist Myriam Marquez "Sugarcoating The Harsh Reality of War". We need to covering up these scandals. As Marquez points out "Thousands of Americans still risking their lives deserve the truth. The families of those brave souls returning in flag-draped coffins deserve no less."

    Re: Sabrina Harman Abuse Trial Set for Thursday (none / 0) (#12)
    by ppjakajim on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:58:58 PM EST
    John H - You need to read Article 4 defines who is or who is not covered. Article 5 says that if there is any doubt, then they should have a tribunal determine their status. Now, since there is NO doubt that they do not meet the requirements for covered, then there is NO need for a tribunal. TS - Nice slap at a bunch of folks who went to Robert E Lee and have never done a thing to warrant your comments. Care to look at the total population of people who went to your highschool? It was in very poor taste, and she should be ashamed of her actions, but no, it wasn't criminal. Dadler - She wasn't "here at home." Che - I think the link said: "posing over the body of a detainee who was allegedly beaten to death by CIA or civilian interrogators in the prison's showers." Now heaven forbid we say innocent until provcen guilty. On the other hand...

    Re: Sabrina Harman Abuse Trial Set for Thursday (none / 0) (#13)
    by Che's Lounge on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:58:58 PM EST
    Jim, Torture apologist extraodinaire.

    Re: Sabrina Harman Abuse Trial Set for Thursday (none / 0) (#14)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:58:59 PM EST
    Che'... When 'torture' (taking naked pictures...being forced to listen to rap..etc..etc.) ends up stopping a bomb from blowing you & your family to bits...I bet you'll change your tune!

    Re: Sabrina Harman Abuse Trial Set for Thursday (none / 0) (#15)
    by john horse on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:01 PM EST
    PPJ, re:"Now, since there is NO doubt that they do not meet the requirements for covered, then there is NO need for a tribunal." How can you claim there is NO doubt about the status of these detainees when our government has released some of the detainees that it has held? If there was NO doubt about their status then none of the detainees would be released. The absense of all doubt (which by the way characterizes many on the right) is not justifiable if there are some who are innocent.

    Re: Sabrina Harman Abuse Trial Set for Thursday (none / 0) (#16)
    by ppjakajim on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:01 PM EST
    Gee John. Perhaps there was an investigation? Perhaps a mistake was made? No claims perfection. Just best effort. And there is no relation between war and the criminal justice system, which most of us understand. Che - Well, at least my heros aren't killing people in the prison courtyard.

    Re: Sabrina Harman Abuse Trial Set for Thursday (none / 0) (#17)
    by john horse on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:01 PM EST
    PPJ, If there are no claims to perfection then there is doubt. If there is doubt then these detainees are entitled to a tribunal and humane treatment. Regarding the investigation, since you claim that these detainees are not entitled to any "protection", and if the Uniform Code of Military Justice, or any other rules don't apply, then how can any of these servicemen be prosecuted? Since there are no rules governing how we treat these detainees, then anything that is done to them is not illegal (moral is another matter), including the abusive acts committed at Abu Ghraib. As a matter of fact, if these detainees are not "protected" by any rules, then even more extreme acts of torture are allowable. I would have to agree with Che. You are a torture apologist extraodinaire.

    Re: Sabrina Harman Abuse Trial Set for Thursday (none / 0) (#19)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:01 PM EST
    Friends - mfox, Sailor, john horse, Dadler, Che's Lounge, Tampa Student, Can't you see you are being taken for a ride? Amazing as it may sound, PPJ (who is, by the way, a torture apologist, only not on this occasion) is essentially right. Harman is just the scapegoat here. Focusing on her misdeeds (or minor crimes, if any) is but a ploy to draw our attention away from the real crime and criminals - the torture and murder of Al-Jamadi by Navy SEALs and CIA agents. The real question is how is it that they are all still free (and, based on experience, are likely to remain free). Why is it that we don't even know their names? We are being given some small fish to pursue - small fish that are both harder to catch, and of little value if caught - while the big fish, the elite soldiers, the commanding officers, the generals, the politicians, are hiding in plain view.

    Re: Sabrina Harman Abuse Trial Set for Thursday (none / 0) (#20)
    by Che's Lounge on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:02 PM EST
    Shorter Jim, "Look! Over there!" Where? "Just LOOK!"

    Sabrina Harman Abuse Trial Set for Thursday | 19 comments (19 topical)