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  Accused Soldiers in Iraq Abuse Scandal Face Global Condemnation
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ContributorGerald Farinas 
Last EditedGerald Farinas  May 12, 2004 03:05pm
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CategoryNews
MediaNews Service - Associated Press
News DateWednesday, May 12, 2004 06:00:00 AM UTC0:0
DescriptionAccused Soldiers in Iraq Abuse Scandal Face Global Condemnation
The Honolulu Advertiser

The photos of Iraqi detainees being humiliated can't be argued with. But what about these soldiers behind them? Families and friends say there's an explanation, others to blame, orders given. The first to go before a military tribunal, Spc. Jeremy Sivits, faces a special court-martial next week. The 24 year old from Hyndman, Pa., apparently took some of the photographs. He could get up to one year in prison. His family and friends, like those of the other soldiers who have been charged in the scandal, don't buy the allegations against Sivits. "He was just following instructions," said his father, Daniel Sivits, a veteran himself.

The soldier who has received the most notoriety is Spc. Lynndie England, 21. The sight of the slight woman in Army gear, holding a naked prisoner by a leash or pointing at a prisoner's genitals, has spurred widespread revulsion. Now her family can't stand to see the pictures anymore. England "really wasn't involved," insisted Destiny Goin, a friend so close she considers herself a sister. "She was just in the wrong place at the wrong time."

Spc. Joe Darby perhaps deserves more notice than the seven standing courts-martial. Darby, 24, studied forestry in high school but became a car mechanic in Virginia after marrying. He grew up poor, friends said, polite, but had a bit of a temper. The difference between Darby and the others? When he saw the photos, he told prison superiors.
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