The United States Army has charged the former head of the interrogation center at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq for his alleged involvement in the abuse of detainees.
The Army announced Friday that Lt. Col. Steven L. Jordan would face 12 counts, including cruelty and maltreatment, dereliction of duty, and interfering with the abuse investigation.
Colonel Jordan is the highest-ranking officer to face criminal charges stemming from Abu Ghraib.
He ran the interrogation center at the prison in late 2003, a time when U.S. military leaders wanted information from detainees to combat the rising Iraqi insurgency.
So far, only a handful of low-ranking soldiers have been prosecuted for abuses at Abu Ghraib.
Officers above Jordan's rank have been reprimanded and relieved of command, but none has faced criminal charges.
Some information for this report provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.