Iraqis call Lynndie England jail term hypocritical

Iraqis expressed fury on Wednesday over the three-year jail sentence for Lynndie England, the U.S. soldier notorious for holding a naked inmate by a leash in Abu Ghraib prison, saying it exposed American hypocrisy.

They said the sentence would have been more harsh had she been convicted of abusing Americans.

"America should be ashamed of this sentence. This is the best evidence that Americans have double standards," said Akram Abdel Amir, a retired bus driver in Baghdad.

"There are Iraqis in jail without any charge, just based on suspicion. But when it comes to Americans, the matter is totally different."

England, 22, was sentenced on Tuesday by a U.S. military court after being convicted of abuse, including being photographed pointing to the genitals of a naked Iraqi prisoner.

The former West Virginia chicken factory worker, who had faced a maximum sentence of nine years, was also given a dishonorable discharge.

She is the last of a group of U.S. soldiers to be convicted of abuse at Abu Ghraib, including her former boyfriend and the father of her child, Charles Graner, who is serving 10 years.

The prisoner abuse scandal provoked global outrage and deepened Iraqi resentment of occupying U.S., Reuters reports.