US General invokes right against self-incrimination in Abu Ghraib case

January 12, 2006 Maj. Gen. Geoffrey Miller, a top US commander who supervised the detention and interrogation of detainees at Guantanomo Bay and Abu Ghraib facilities declined to testify in a court-martial proceeding, by invoking his right to not implicate himself, the Washington Post reports. This is believed to be the first time that the role of senior officers in the prisoner abuse scandal has formally surfaced.

Gen. Miller declined to testify during the court-martial trial involving two dog-handlers who are accused of detainee abuse. An attorney for one of the accused is seeking to question Miller on whether he ordered the use of dogs to frighten detainees during interrogations.

Gen. Miller's lawyer has stated that the decision to decline testifying was taken as Miller has been repeatedly interviewed over the last several years, and that he stands by his previous statements made to Congress, Army Investigators and lawyers.