Pfc. Lynndie England, center, arrives at a military court at Fort Bragg, N.C., Tuesday, Aug. 3, 2004 for the beginning of her article 32 hearing, with two unidentified women. She faces up to 38 years in prison if convicted of all charges. England is the soldier accused of abusing Iraqi prisoners and creating lewd photos. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)
FORT BRAGG, N.C. (AP) - An Army investigator testified Tuesday that Pfc. Lynndie England and other members of her unit told him that photos of naked Iraqi prisoners piled in pyramids and other humiliating poses were taken "just for fun."
As a military hearing started to determine if England should be court-martialed for her actions at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, Paul D. Arthur testified that when he interviewed her, three months before the prison photos became public in April, she told him the shots were taken while "they were joking around, having some fun, working the night shift."
Arthur said he believed the reservists from the 372nd Military Police Company, based on Cresaptown, Md., were responding to the stress of being in a war zone.
"It was just for fun, kind of venting their frustration," Arthur testified.
The hearing is designed to gather evidence that will be used to decide if England will be court-martialed. The Article 32 hearing is the military equivalent of a grand jury in civilian court, but it is open and the defendant attends it.
Defense lawyers have said England was following orders when she was photographed mocking the detainees and that the U.S. government has made her a scapegoat for an incident that stirred anger in the Arab world.
But Arthur said that although England initially told him military intelligence officers allowed the reservists to take the photographs for use in interrogating other prisoners, there was no indication that ever happened.
"No one said they were going to turn them over to military intelligence," he testified.
In cross-examination, England's military lawyer, Capt. Jonathan Crisp, pressed Arthur about whether military intelligence officers ordered the reservists to take the pictures.
Arthur said officials continue to investigate the use of military intelligence techniques at the prison, but added that in his interviews with 372nd members, "none of them stated that (military intelligence) specifically told them (to do this), except for the statement I got from Pfc. England."
England's demeanor as she arrived for the hearing contrasted with the images of a jaunty young woman shown in the photos. England was visibly pregnant beneath her green camouflage uniform and wore a black beret. Her expression was serious and subdued, and she looked down as she approached the courthouse and dozens of reporters and photographers.
One of the prison photos shows England, from Fort Ashby, W.Va., smiling, cigarette in her mouth, as she leans forward and points at the genitals of a naked, hooded Iraqi. Another photo shows her holding a leash that encircles the neck of a naked Iraqi man lying on his side on a cellblock floor, his face contorted.
England, 21, is charged with 13 counts of abusing detainees and six counts stemming from possession of sexually explicit photos which the Army has said do not depict Iraqis. The maximum possible sentence is 38 years in prison.
Arthur, who was stationed at Abu Ghraib to monitor prisoner interviews for the Army, was the first witnesses called by the prosecution.
He said he was alerted to problems at the prison on the night of Jan. 13, when Spc. Joseph Darby of the 372nd gave him a compact disk containing the now-infamous photos, which were mixed with tourist-type photos of Iraq, and told him that prisoners were being abused. He said he started waking members of England's unit and questioning them within two hours.
A Fort Bragg spokesman, Col. Billy Buckner, told reporters that the prosecution has 25 potential witnesses.
Witnesses on a list the defense released earlier this year included Vice President Cheney, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and top generals, although military officials say it is doubtful they will appear.
England is one of seven reservists from the 372nd who have been charged in the scandal. One, Spc. Jeremy C. Sivits, has already pleaded guilty and been sentenced to a year in prison.
Spec. Charles A. Graner Jr., 35, another soldier in England's unit, also has been charged with abuses and was involved in a romantic relationship with England; he faces adultery charges for allegedly having sex with England last October. England's lawyers have said Graner is the father of the child she is expecting.