Soldier says officials ordered some detainees hidden from Red Cross

"I didn't understand it, and I can't tell you what that meant," Ward testified, saying he had no idea what Article 134 was. Military prosecutors here also could not say what the term meant. Ward said military intelligence "put the signs on the door."

The testimony at a preliminary court hearing for Private Frist Class Lynndie R. England, 21 -- who is charged with abusing detainees at Abu Ghraib last fall -- echoes findings of an Army investigation that severely criticized officials there for keeping "ghost detainees," those who were hidden from international humanitarian workers.

An Army investigation into abuses at Abu Ghraib by Major General Antonio M. Taguba reported that some detainees were being kept secretly and strongly condemned the practice as a violation of international law. A subsequent Army Inspector General's report, issued to Congress last month, said the Inspector General had no evidence that detainees were hidden from international officials or that there was any systemic problem related to such practices.

Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld has said he authorized keeping one soldier off the official rolls under unusual circumstances, but members of the Senate Armed Services Committee have expressed concern that the practice was more widespread.