Megan Ambuhl | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1974 or 1975 (age 50–51) Centreville, Virginia, U.S. |
| Occupation | Soldier (formerly) |
| Spouse | |
| Conviction | Dereliction of duty |
| Criminal penalty |
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Megan Ambuhl (born 1974 or 1975) is a formerUnited States Army Reserve soldier who was convicted ofdereliction of duty for her role in theprisoner abuse that occurred atAbu Ghraib prison, a notoriousprison inBaghdad during theUnited States'occupation of Iraq.
Ambuhl was born inCentreville, Virginia.[1] She graduated from high school in 1992 and attendedCoastal Carolina University, where she received anAssociate of Sciencedegree inbiology.[1]
Ambuhl entered military service on January 31, 2002.[1] She attendedOne Station Unit Training atFort Leonard Wood inMissouri, completingbasic training around June 23, 2002.[1] After completingMilitary Occupational Specialty training, she was released fromactive duty on August 23, 2002.[1] In civilian life, Ambuhl was ahistologytechnician atLabCorp inHerndon, Virginia.[1]
IncludingDelayed Entry time, Ambuhl served in theUnited States Army Reserve for two years and nine months.[1] On February 21, 2003, Ambuhl was activated for service in theIraq War.[1] In astipulation made during court-martial proceedings, Ambuhl wrote that she "receivedGeneva Convention andUCMJ training during an approximately 60–90 minute block of instruction in basic training, but cannot remember any specifics of those classes."[1]
Ambuhl was originally assigned to the 352nd Military Police Company, but was involuntarily transferred to the 372nd Military Police Company.[1] The 372nd Company spent three months training atFort Lee, Virginia[1] on Law and Order Missions.[2]
In May 2003, Ambuhl and the 372nd Company arrived inKuwait, proceeding north toAl Hillah inIraq, where the company "was responsible for, among other things, assisting and training theIraqi Police in the surrounding area."[1] On October 15, 2003, the company assumed duties at theBaghdad Central Confinement Facility (BCCF, better known as theAbu Ghraib prison) 12 miles west ofBaghdad.[1]
From October 2003 to January 2004, Ambuhl worked at Abu Ghraib, primarily as anight shiftguard for Tier 1B, which housed "certain sub-categories of civiliandetainees – including women, juveniles, and detainees suspected ofpsychiatric/psychological problems or mental instability," as well as "detainees that had caused serious disciplinary problems."[1] Ambuhl's particular responsibility was to guard women and juveniles in Tier 1B.[1] The 372nd Company was not trained in internment and resettlement (IR).[1]
In her stipulation, Ambuhl admitted that between October 20 and December 1, 2003, she wasderelict of duty in that she had "willfully failed to protect Iraqi detainees from abuse, cruelty, and maltreatment."[1] Specifically, Ambuhl stipulated that she witnessed "numerous acts" of abuse, cruelty, and maltreatment, writing that "This time was very confusing for me, and things were done to detainees that I questioned, but that apparently were permissible. But there were some things that were done that I knew were wrong at the time, and I did not act to stop this behavior to protect the detainees."[1]
Ambuhl was served with a court-martial in August 2004 in connection with prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib. She was represented by aWashington, D.C.-based civilianlawyer, Harvey J. Volzer. A June 2004Newsday article reported that Ambuhl, who had not yet appeared in any of the released photographs, was not involved in the incidents atAbu Ghraib:
A key part of the defense being prepared by Harvey Volzer, a lawyer for Spc. Megan Ambuhl, who England and another soldier both have said was not directly involved in the abuse. Volzer will argue Ambuhl could not have been derelict in her duty to guard prisoners because the memos show that the government believed the rough treatment to get information was justified. "We have multiple legal memoranda ... condoning what these people did," he said.[3]
In aPittsburgh Post-Gazette article, Volzer was quoted as saying:
They don't have a case against her. They really don't ... She's not in any of the photographs you've seen or in any of the ones you haven't. She's not mentioned in any of the statements of doing anything other than being there. She's being charged because everybody on the night shift was being charged.[4]
Ambuhl appears in several of the photos relating to the prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib, published by Salon.com in March 2006,[5] observing the incidents of abuse[6] or administering injections.[7] However, none of the photographs published bySalon appear to show her directly engaged in prisoner abuse.
As part of a plea agreement, Specialist Ambuhl was convicted by court-martial on October 30, 2004, for dereliction of duty. In punishment, she was demoted to Private, discharged from the Army, and docked half a month's pay. Additional charges brought against Ambuhl were dropped following a pretrial guilty plea but had included allegations ofconspiracy, maltreatment, and indecent acts. She was the third MP reservist and fourth U.S. soldier convicted in the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal.[8][9]
In April 2005, she marriedCharles Graner, who was serving time for his role in the Abu Ghraib scandal. Graner had earlier been in a relationship with another soldier,Lynndie England and had one child with her.[10]
Because Ambuhl was not permitted to see him for the first 2½ years of his incarceration, it was aproxy wedding.[11][12]
From 2005 onwards, she ran the now-defunct website, www.supportmpscapegoats.com (archived link), where she posted documents in support of her husband's innocence. In aWashington Post web interview, she also stated: "[Graner] should be let out now because he and the others in prison have served more prison time than any other soldier sentenced for similar cases [...] including murders."[13]
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| National | |
