US Army Specialist Charles Graner Jr. was convicted on Friday of abusing prisoners at the Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad, Iraq.

Graner, 36, was found guilty of five charges, which included conspiracy, dereliction of duty, maltreatment, aggravated assault and indecent acts, by a jury consisting of six enlisted soldiers and four officers at Fort Hood, Texas.

The jury took less than five hours to reach the verdict, which came after a five-day trial.

Graner, the first soldier to be tried on charges arising from the abuse scandal at Abu Ghraib, which occurred mainly in the second half of 2003 and sparked international outrage when photographs were released in late April last year, faces up to 17 years in prison, discharge from the army and forfeiture of pay.

With the conviction, the case now goes to the sentencing phase. The jury was expected to deliver the sentence by early Saturday.

(Xinhua News Agency January 15, 2005)