A military court in Washington has ordered a U.S. army general to appear as a defense witness in the trial of a military dog handler accused of abusing detainees in Iraq, The Washington Post reported on Wednesday.

Army Maj. Gen. Geoffrey Miller, the former commander of the detention facility at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, will become the first general-level officer to testify in court about controversial U.S. interrogation techniques and the detention of foreign prisoners, the report said.

The order by Marine Lt Col. Paul H. McConnell, a military judge in Washington, will give defense attorneys a chance to question Miller about the use of dogs in security and interrogation operations at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and in Iraq.

It also means lawyers could use Miller's testimony to attempt to draw connections between the alleged abuse and the policies developed by top Pentagon officials, who had reportedly learned harsh interrogation tactics from Miller when he was the commander at Guantanamo Bay.

Attorneys for Sgt Santos A. Cardona, the accused dog handler, were the first to convince the court that Miller's involvement could shed light on how dogs came to be used to threaten high-value detainees during interrogation in Iraq in late 2003.

The former Guantanamo Bay commander had allegedly played an important role in shaping interrogation methods recently adopted by U.S. military prisons around the world.

Earlier this year, Miller had invoked his military rights not to incriminate himself, but recent reports said he had agreed to testify at Cardona's court-martial, which is scheduled to begin on May 17.

Source: Xinhua