Woman soldier ‘ordered to pose’

AN army reservist who was photographed smiling and pointing at naked, bound Iraqi prisoners had been ordered to pose because her presence would be especially humiliating to the men, her lawyers said.

The photos were staged by intelligence agents to intimidate other prisoners, and appearing naked in front of a young woman would be especially humiliating to Iraqi men, lawyer Rose Mary Zapor said in Denver.

Private Lynndie England, 21, is charged with mistreating prisoners at the Abu Ghraib prison in a scandal that has sparked worldwide outrage.

“The (soldiers) pictured were congratulated. They were told the photographs were successful in gathering information,” Ms Zapor said.

Defence lawyers believe the photos may have been made at the direction of civilians in the CIA, Ms Zapor said. She said the defence team did not know who told Pt England to pose in them.

Six other soldiers from the 372nd Military Police Company also are charged. One, Specialist Jeremy Sivits, will face a court martial in Baghdad next week.

Another of England’s Denver-based lawyers, Giorgio Ra’shadd, was at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, where she is now stationed, yesterday.

He said his client was being offered up as a scapegoat for the mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners.

Pt England faces military charges including conspiracy to maltreat prisoners and assault consummated by battery, and could face

punishments ranging from a reprimand to more than 15 years in prison.