Jury selection began Thursday in the military trial of a female U.S. soldier accused of participating in the abuse of prisoners in Iraq, according to a military official. dpa reported Specialist Sabrina Harman is accused of abusing prisoners at the Abu Ghraib prison and has been charged with conspiracy to maltreat detainees, dereliction of duty and maltreating detainees. She faces up to six and a half years in prison if convicted on all counts. Harman's defence suffered a setback Wednesday after a judge in Fort Hood, Texas, barred a statement from an abused Iraqi prisoner that her lawyers hoped would help her case, according to the Killeen Daily Herald. The judge ruled to throw out the statement because the Iraqi prisoner who made it cannot be located. He had been released from Abu Ghraib after pictures detailing the abuse became public worldwide. --SP 2258 Local Time 1958 GMT
