Lynndie a 'willing participant' in prisoner abuse

A soldier already convicted in the Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal testified today that Private Lynndie England was a willing participant in creating the “human pyramid” of naked Iraqi detainees shown in infamous photographs.

Private Jeremy Sivits testified at a hearing in England’s case that he helped escort a detainee into the Baghdad prison one night in December 2003. He said a sergeant who was in charge yelled at England and another soldier for “stomping on the fingers and toes” of a prisoner.

After that sergeant left, Sivits testified, he watched as Specialist Charles Graner and others stacked seven naked detainees, who had bags over their heads, in the human pyramid and photographed them.

The photos included shots of England, 21, smiling and pointing at one detainee’s genitals and posing behind the pyramid.

“Corporal Graner seemed like he was enjoying it,” said Sivits. “Private England was sitting in his lap, having a good time.”

Several soldiers have testified that England was Graner’s girlfriend, and he has been described as the father of the child she is due to deliver in October.

Sivits pleaded guilty in the scandal and is serving a year in prison.

The hearing, which began at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, earlier this month, is to determine whether England should face a court-martial on 13 counts of abusing detainees and six counts stemming from possession of sexually explicit photos not involving detainees.

If convicted, she could get up to 38 years in prison.