American generals to face questions in Iraqi prisoner abuse trial

DEFENCE lawyers for soldiers on trial in the Iraqi prisoner abuse case won permission yesterday to question two top American generals, and the military judge ordered that the Abu Ghraib prison not be torn down because it is a crime scene.

The judge also refused to move the trials of Private Charles Graner, Sergeant Javal Davis and Staff Sergeant Ivan "Chip" Frederick outside Iraq.

The judge, Colonel James Pohl, left open the possibility of calling other senior figures if the defence could show their testimony was relevant which Guy Womack, the civilian lawyer for Spc Graner, said the lawyers intended to do.

Mr Womack said outside the pretrial hearing that there was "a good chance" he would seek to question Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. He said he doubted he would try to question President Bush, although "certainly we will be considering it".

Civil lawyers for Sgt Davis and Spc Graner won permission to seek testimony from the top US general in Iraq, Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez and from the chief of the Central Command, General John Abizaid.

Sgt Davis' civil lawyer, Paul Bergrin, has also said he wants to question Mr Bush and Mr Rumsfeld about the prisoner abuse, though he did not formally present a request in court.

"We would like to interview Bush because we know as a matter of fact that President Bush changed the rules of engagement for intelligence acquisition," Mr Bergrin said.

Lawyers for Sgt Davis and Spc Graner also sought unsuccessfully to have the trial moved to the United States or Germany.

However, Col. Pohl said he might reconsider his ruling if future events in Iraq precluded a fair trial.

No date for a trial has been set, but Mr Womack said he did not believe it would begin before

October, particularly given the difficulty in questioning witnesses and other security difficulties now present in Iraq.

The three are among seven soldiers accused of abusing prisoners. One of them, Spc Jeremy C Sivits, pleaded guilty last month and was sentenced to a year in prison.

The seven soldiers charged in the case were from the 372nd Military Police Company, an Army Reserve unit.

The abuse scandal broke in April when CBS's 60 Minutes II broadcast photographs of hooded and naked prisoners.

The abuse scandal has sparked massive international criticism and undercut the moral authority of the US-led mission in Iraq.

A hearing for another soldier charged in the scandal, Pfc Lynndie England, 21, will be held separately today at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.