US reservist found guilty of Abu Ghraib abuses

A military jury has found Army reservist Sabrina Harman guilty of mistreating Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib in a scandal that badly damaged America's image worldwide. She could face up to five-and-a-half years in prison.

Ms Harman, 27, appeared in some of the most notorious Abu Ghraib prison photographs, including one in which she posed with a pyramid of naked detainees.

The jury found her guilty of one count of conspiracy related to that incident beamed across the world a year ago. The court bagan the penalty phase of her trial late yesterday.

In only the second Abu Ghraib case to go to trial, the military panel also found Ms Harman placed wires on a hooded Iraqi and warned him he would be electrocuted if he stepped off a box - one of five maltreatment charges she faces.

"What you see out there is not the true Sabrina Harman. The truth needs to be told," her best friend and roommate, Kelly Bryant, said in testimony that ultimately brought Ms Harman to tears yesterday. "She's the type of person who wouldn't allow you to step on an ant or kill a spider."

The jury on Monday found Ms Harman not guilty on one of seven charges, that she had maltreated prisoners by photographing and videotaping detainees forced to masturbate at Abu Ghraib. That charge could have added an additional year to her sentence.

Her lawyer said yesterday that a Ft Hood pretrial hearing in the case was scheduled for next Monday.