Afghanistan in July and sentenced him to six months in detention, the US military said.

Sergeant Kevin D. Myricks was found guilty of conspiracy to maltreat a detainee and maltreatment of two detainees at a hearing at a US base in Afghanistan on Monday.

The court martial and subsequent punishment of the soldier reflected the seriousness with which the military viewed the incident, said Major General Jason Kamiya, commander of US-led forces fighting insurgents in Afghanistan.

Myricks, demoted to the rank of private, was being held at the main US base at Bagram, north of Kabul, pending transfer to Kuwait for detention, the US military said in a statement.