SEALs Charged With Iraqi Abuse in Court (Abu Ghraib Shower Death Case)

[Khephra]

SAN DIEGO -- Charges against seven Navy SEALs accused of abusing Iraqi prisoners -- including one who died at Abu Ghraib prison -- were initiated by a disgraced former member of the unit who was trying to save his own career, lawyers for two of the accused said Wednesday.

One of the defense attorneys said the Iraqi who was found dead in November in a shower at Abu Ghraib was in good condition until the CIA took custody of him.

Cmdr. Jeff Bender, a spokesman for Naval Special Warfare Command in Coronado, the SEALs' headquarters, said it was inappropriate to comment on an ongoing investigation. A CIA spokeswoman declined to comment.

Members of a Sea-Air-Land, or SEAL, unit known as SEAL Team-7 are facing military charges including aggravated assault, obstruction of justice and conduct unbecoming an officer. Members of Seal Team-7 were part of a special operations-CIA unit hunting targets in Iraq, according to an Army report on Abu Ghraib.

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-ap-iraq-prisoner-abuse-navy,0,2920810.story?coll=sns-ap-nation-headlines