Soldier Charged With Abuse Says He Followed Orders
B A G H D A D, Iraq, May 14, 2004 -- Sgt. Javal S. Davis — one of four former Abu Ghraib prison soldiers who are scheduled to be court-martialed next week — said any physical actions he took with Iraqi detainees were at the direct instructions of the interrogation officers at the Baghdad prison.
Davis told ABCNEWS' Good Morning America that every action he took was in response to instructions he received from intelligence officers at Baghdad's notorious Abu Ghraib prison. The soldier said intelligence officers who were preparing to interrogate prisoners gave instructions to "rough them up" before questioning.
Davis said that it has always been his understanding that his actions were within the limits of what is acceptable in dealing with detainees.
"Basically, when the intelligence personnel, when they bring them down there, anyone that comes in there with intelligence value, they want to interrogate them and they would ask you to loosen them up," Davis said on Good Morning America during a phone interview from Baghdad. "Basically, just rough them up a little bit, get them scared. Don't hurt them or anything like that, which I didn't do. No one was injured from what I did," he said.
Davis will be arraigned May 20 on charges stemming from the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse allegations. Staff Sgt. Ivan "Chip" Frederick II and Cpl. Charles A. Graner will also be arraigned that day on charges related to the abuse scandal.
Davis has been charged with conspiracy to maltreat detainees; dereliction of duty for failing to protect detainees from abuse; maltreatment of detainees; and rendering false official statements and assault.
The 26-year-old soldier, who is originally from Roselle, N.J., said he was doing his job and simply following orders.
According to the charge sheet, Davis told Army investigators he was "made to do various things that I would question morally."
"Yes, I could have said no to anything. But that would have been disobeying an order," Davis said on Good Morning America. "So either you can get in trouble for not doing what you're told or get in trouble for doing what you're told. So it's kind of like a Catch-22. But it's my choice to make a decision what I consider would be the right thing to do or not."
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