Abu Ghraib ringleader gets 10 years for prison torture

THE US soldier labelled the ringleader in the Abu Ghraib prison scandal started a 10-year jail sentence yesterday.

Photographs of US Army Specialist Charles Graner sexually humiliating and attacking prisoners at the prison near Baghdad shocked the world last year. He was found guilty of abusing detainees by a court martial at Fort Hood, Texas, on Friday night, and sentenced on Saturday night.

Graner, 36, who was described as the leader of a band of rogue guards at the prison in late 2003, was the first soldier to be tried on charges arising from the scandal. He was also demoted to private and ordered to forfeit all pay and benefits.