Neither the victims of abuse, nor alleged abusers, can expect fairness

PRIVATE Lynndie England, 21, was brought before a court in North Carolina this week to decide whether to court martial her for abusing prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison. She could face up to 38 years in jail.

She was photographed holding a long dog lead that was fastened around the neck of a naked prisoner who was grimacing on the prison floor.

In another photograph she was smiling, with a cigarette hanging from her mouth as she pointed at the genitals of a hooded Iraqi prisoner who was otherwise naked and being compelled to masturbate. She is accused of 13 counts of abusing prisoners and six counts of possessing sexually explicit photographs - apparently of herself having sex with one of the guards by whom she became pregnant.