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Iraqis call Lynndie England jail term travesty
RESENTMENT The prosecution asked the jury for a sentence of four to six years. England was found guilty on six counts on Monday. The prisoner abuse scandal provoked global outrage and deepened Iraqi resentment of occupying U.S. troops. In pre-sentencing testimony, England said she was sorry for her actions but remained an American patriot. Iraqis remember her as the American soldier who held an inmate by a leash like the kind used for dogs, a highly degrading act because Iraqis and other Muslims regard the animals as unclean. The images of a smiling England abusing naked inmates were especially humiliating in Iraq, a male-dominated society. "The whole thing is theater. The Americans want to pretend they defend human rights and are a civilized nation," said Munir Abdel Sahib, a university lecturer. "I believe that England would not have committed these crimes without orders from above." In court testimony, England blamed her involvement on Graner, the abuse ringleader, who is now married to another woman who pleaded guilty to abusing prisoners at Abu Ghraib. "There is no justice in this sentence because the pictures were very
shameful. She has to get more years in jail and she has to be imprisoned in
Iraq," said Najaat al-Azawi, 55, a retired engineer.
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