'More US soldiers must stand trial'

Sister of slain detainee insists justice has still not been served

The sister of a man killed in Abu Ghraib prison and photographed with a US soldier convicted of abusing prisoners has demanded more servicemen be brought to justice.

US Army Specialist Charles Graner, the reputed ringleader of the Iraqi prisoner abuse scandal, was sentenced to 10 years in prison at the weekend for physically and sexually mistreating detainees at Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad.

'I don't think of it as one person who killed Monathel - it was a group of people,' said Montaha al-Jumaily of her brother's death.

When photos of abuses at Abu Ghraib prison began appearing on television last April, Ms Jumaily had been searching for her brother for seven months.

'Then we saw the pictures on television,' she said, referring to snapshots of Graner and other soldiers posing - smiling with thumbs up - with the body of her brother, who had been tortured to death in November 2003.

Ms Jumaily said she was unaware the CIA agent accused of killing her brother was facing only assault charges.

'If he's not a murderer, what is he, then?' she asked. 'This picture is a crime in itself.'

When Jumaily was arrested by the US military on November 3, 2003, at his home in Mahmoudia, about 15km south of the capital, his family thought he would be released quickly. 'He graduated from the fine arts academy theatre department. He was a very well-educated person. He studied fine arts and spoke English,' Ms Jumaily said.

Jumaily's family spent seven months searching for him at detention facilities across the country. His brother-in-law, Abo Ali, even quit his job to look for him.

Jumaily's three children - a 16-year-old girl and boys aged 15 and 14 - have still not recovered from the shock of his death.

The US military claimed Jumaily was suspected of participating in the October 2003 car bombing at the Red Cross headquarters in Baghdad.

'Do they have any evidence?' Ms Jumaily asked. 'He was disabled in his leg. How can he be a terrorist if he cannot walk properly?'

The original death certificate indicated Jumaily had died of a heart attack. 'We saw his body, what they did to him. His eyes were missing and both his legs were broken,' said Jumaily's brother-in-law Abo Ali.

The family eventually obtained a death certificate from the military indicating homicide, but Ms Jumaily is angry there are still unanswered questions.

'The military says he died on November 4,' she said. 'But people who were in the prison told us he stayed alive for four days, that they could hear his voice.'

Unlike many whose relatives have been sent to Abu Ghraib, Ms Jumaily remains moderate.

'I know for a fact the people of America don't agree with this war. The occupation won't last. I am going to participate in the election because it's important to vote.'