WASHINGTON, Feb 1 (AFP) - A US Army sergeant pleaded guilty Tuesday to three charges in connection with the abuse of Iraqi detainees at Abu Ghraib prison.
Sergeant Javal Davis pleaded guilty in a military court in Fort Hood, Texas, to battery, making a false official statement, and dereliction of duty for failing to protect detainees from abuse at the prison near Baghdad.
Davis pleaded not guilty to two additional charges -- maltreatment of prisoners and conspiracy to maltreat the detainees, said Cecil Green, a military spokesman at Fort Hood.
Davis faces up to eight and a half years in prison, a dishonorable discharge from the military and a reduction in rank, Green said. He could also be ordered to forfeit pay and benefits.
Davis was a military policeman who worked at the Abu Ghraib prison as a guard for three months in late 2003.
Davis is among seven soldiers facing charges in the abuse scandal at Abu Ghraib. Several haunting pictures of the abuse showed naked and injured Iraqi prisoners alongside smiling American soldiers. The photos sparked international outrage.
In the first court-martial in the prison scandal, Army Specialist Charles Graner was sentenced last month to 10 years in prison for physically and sexually mistreating Iraqis.
Four others accused in the abuse have pleaded guilty to various charges.
02/01/2005 22:00 GMT - AFP