Eleventh U.S. Soldier Convicted Over Abu Ghraib

(RFE/RL) June 2, 2006 -- A military jury in the United States has convicted an Army sergeant of assaulting a detainee with his dog at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison.

The panel in the state of Maryland on June 1 found Sergeant Santos Cardona guilty of allowing his dog to bark within centimeters of a prisoner's face.

But it acquitted Cardona of some of the most serious charges he faced, including having his dog bite an inmate and conspiring with a fellow guard to frighten prisoners into defecating and urinating on themselves.

Cardona is the 11th soldier convicted of crimes stemming from the abuse of inmates at the prison in late 2003 and early 2004.

He faces up to 3 1/2 years in prison.

(Reuters, AFP, AP)