Highest US military court to hear appeal of former Abu Ghraib dog handler convicted in abuse

Highest military court to hear Abu Ghraib appeal

WASHINGTON — The U.S. military’s highest court is scheduled to hear the appeal of a former Army dog handler convicted in the abuse of detainees at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.

The case of former Sgt. Michael J. Smith is the first one in the scandal to go before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces in Washington. Military jurors previously found that Smith let his unmuzzled Belgian shepherd threaten three detainees at the prison. They also found the Fort Lauderdale, Fla., man conspired with another dog handler to try to frighten prisoners into soiling themselves and directed his dog to lick peanut butter off other soldiers’ bodies.

Smith, of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., is questioning whether the evidence against him was sufficient and whether the military judge gave adequate jury instructions.