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Abu Ghraib case against high-ranking officer nears end

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FORT MEADE, Maryland (CNN) -- Closing arguments are set for Friday in the hearing of Lt. Col. Steven Jordan, the highest-ranking officer charged in the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal.

The hearing will sort out how much responsibility Jordan bears for the instances of abuse that horrified the U.S. and the world when photos emerged from the Iraq detainment facility that showed prisoners being terrorized by dogs, tied up nude, and in various humiliating poses.

Jordan was the highest-ranking officer charged with crimes at the prison and was nominally the center's director, but was not responsible for the forced nudity and intimidation by dogs, he has said.

Jordan's lawyers have said he was merely a civil affairs officer, a liaison between military police and military intelligence.

One of Thursday's witnesses, Col. Steven J. Boltz, said Jordan had been designated as director of the Abu Ghraib interrogation center, but also was serving Army Col. Thomas Pappas in a type of liaison role between intelligence and military police.

Boltz was the senior deputy to Maj. Gen. Barbara Fast, the head of intelligence in the U.S. command in Iraq at the time.

Pappas was commander of the 205th Military Intelligence Brigade.

Boltz said Jordan saw his duties as more managerial than intelligence-related because of the severely deteriorated conditions at the prison, the lack of security and quality of life for the troops that needed immediate attention.

Jordan faces 12 charges, the most serious alleging cruelty and maltreatment of prisoners.

If convicted on all counts, Jordan could go to prison for 42 years.

Jordan was formally charged by prosecutors on April 25. The charges allege he twice approved harsh interrogation techniques, including the use of dogs, without getting permission from Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, who at the time was the commanding general in Iraq.

Jordan is also accused of lying to the two generals given the duty of investigating the scandal at Abu Ghraib.

Seven low-ranking guards and two military intelligence soldiers were disciplined after the Abu Ghraib scandal. The photos -- which were leaked to the news media -- showed cases of torture and sexual humiliation, causing global condemnation.

In May 2005, President Bush demoted Army Reserve Brig. Gen. Janis Karpinski, who was in charge of Abu Ghraib during the scandal, to colonel. A month earlier, Karpinski had been formally relieved of command of the 800th military police brigade.

The longest prison sentence -- 10 years -- was given to Army Cpl. Charles Graner, who is seen in many of the Abu Ghraib photos with his then-girlfriend, Pfc. Lynndie England, who was sentenced to three years in prison.

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