[JURIST] The number of reports of detainee abuse in Iraq and Afghanistan dropped sharply after a series of abuses at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq were publicly revealed, the Washington Post reported Thursday. The most current US Army figures on abuse reports show that the number made against US soldiers dropped by more than 75 percent from April 2004, when the Abu Ghraib abuses became known, and the end of the year. The number of reported abuses was at its highest in April 2004, when 25 reports were made, including four deaths. In December 2004, only six reports of abuse were made. The US Defense Department [official website] says the drop was due to stricter detention procedures implemented following Abu Ghraib. Several Army investigations into the abuse, including the report [JURIST report] by US Navy chief of staff Admiral Albert T. Church, have reported no systematic abuse, but noted that operations were changed after the abuses became public. Early this week, the Army increased [JURIST report] the number of reported detainee deaths caused by homicide to 26. The Washington Post has more.