.Abuse Claims Complicating Gitmo Trials
GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba (AP) - Abuse of prisoners by U.S. military interrogators in Afghanistan became an issue this week during separate pretrial hearings for three detainees at Guantanamo Bay.
The military revealed the interrogator of one defendant had been convicted of assaulting an Afghan detainee who later died; a lawyer for the second charged his client was abused by a soldier known as "The King of Torture;" and the third boycotted his hearing after complaining of abuse in Afghanistan.
All three defendants facing war-crimes tribunals were previously held by U.S. forces at Bagram air base in Afghanistan, which became a way station for hundreds of suspected Taliban and al-Qaida fighters who were later shipped to Guantanamo.
While no proof has emerged the three were mistreated themselves, a military investigation confirmed abuses occurred at Bagram, paving the way for defense lawyers to challenge statements their clients made there.
America's first war-crimes trials since the World War II era allow evidence obtained through coercion, but statements obtained through torture are not admissible. Veteran interrogators say torture produces unreliable intelligence because detainees will say anything to stop the pain.
Observers expect that once trials get under way at this U.S. military base in southeastern Cuba, much of the focus will be on allegations that defendants were abused in custody in Afghanistan.
"Whatever issues may arise, torture is going to be at the heart of this process," said Ben Wizner, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union who attended the hearings.
A deputy chief prosecutor for the Guantanamo tribunals, Army Col. Bruce Pagel, said it was too early to assess whether any evidence had been tainted by abuse at Bagram.
At least 15 American servicemen were charged with prisoner abuse following the December 2002 deaths at Bagram of two Afghan detainees. Military investigators concluded they were beaten to death.
Some of the interrogators' names surfaced this week during the hearings at Guantanamo.
During proceedings Thursday for Toronto-born Omar Khadr, prosecutors revealed his questioners at Bagram included Army Sgt. Joshua R. Claus, who admitted at a 2005 court-martial that he forced water down the throat of one of the Afghans who died. No one has been charged in the death.
Claus, who was sentenced to five months in prison for assaulting the detainee, said he constantly felt pressure at Bagram to quickly gather information, causing him frustration and anger.
Khadr's attorney, Navy Lt. Cmdr. William Kuebler, said he believes prosecutors will rely on statements "extracted" from Khadr at Bagram, where he was taken after he allegedly threw a grenade that killed a U.S. Special Forces soldier during a firefight. Khadr was only 15 during the firefight, during which he was shot twice in the back.
"His principal interrogator was somebody we know was involved in detainee abuse," Kuebler told reporters. "I think that creates an overwhelming lack of confidence in the government's evidence."
Khadr's lawyers have asked the government to detail the interrogation techniques used on their client at Bagram.
Khadr and another detainee facing trial, Ahmed Mohammed Ahmed Haza al-Darbi, were guarded at Bagram by members of the 519th Military Intelligence Battalion. At least four soldiers in the unit, which is based in Fort Bragg, N.C., were prosecuted for alleged abuse at Bagram.
Al-Darbi, a Saudi arraigned Thursday for allegedly plotting in 2001-02 to attack a ship in the Strait of Hormuz or off the coast of Yemen, has charged he was abused during questioning at Bagram.
He says his interrogator was Pfc. Damien M. Corsetti, a counterintelligence specialist who was acquitted of charges including dereliction of duty, maltreatment and assault in a 2006 court-martial. Prosecutors at the court-martial said fellow soldiers called him the "King of Torture."
Al-Darbi's attorney, Army Lt. Col. Bryan Broyles, said that Corsetti struck his client and that he and other soldiers left the Saudi hanging from his handcuffs during extended interrogations.
In this week's third case, a 23-year-old Afghan detainee who was dragged out of his cell at Guantanamo for his first pretrial hearing Wednesday complained about his treatment at Bagram and Guantanamo, and then refused to cooperate in what he described as unfair proceedings.
"When I was in detention at Bagram, Americans killed three people. They beat people and arrested us without trial. We're not given any rights," Mohammed Jawad told the judge.
It was unclear what deaths he was referring to.
The U.S. military says it plans to prosecute about 80 of the roughly 275 detainees at Guantanamo. Fourteen have been charged, but none of the cases has gone to trial.
The only conviction has come in the case of David Hicks, an Australian who was returned home to serve a nine-month sentence under a plea deal that requires him to remain silent about any alleged abuse in U.S. custody.
MyWay
The military revealed the interrogator of one defendant had been convicted of assaulting an Afghan detainee who later died; a lawyer for the second charged his client was abused by a soldier known as "The King of Torture;" and the third boycotted his hearing after complaining of abuse in Afghanistan.
All three defendants facing war-crimes tribunals were previously held by U.S. forces at Bagram air base in Afghanistan, which became a way station for hundreds of suspected Taliban and al-Qaida fighters who were later shipped to Guantanamo.
While no proof has emerged the three were mistreated themselves, a military investigation confirmed abuses occurred at Bagram, paving the way for defense lawyers to challenge statements their clients made there.
America's first war-crimes trials since the World War II era allow evidence obtained through coercion, but statements obtained through torture are not admissible. Veteran interrogators say torture produces unreliable intelligence because detainees will say anything to stop the pain.
Observers expect that once trials get under way at this U.S. military base in southeastern Cuba, much of the focus will be on allegations that defendants were abused in custody in Afghanistan.
"Whatever issues may arise, torture is going to be at the heart of this process," said Ben Wizner, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union who attended the hearings.
A deputy chief prosecutor for the Guantanamo tribunals, Army Col. Bruce Pagel, said it was too early to assess whether any evidence had been tainted by abuse at Bagram.
At least 15 American servicemen were charged with prisoner abuse following the December 2002 deaths at Bagram of two Afghan detainees. Military investigators concluded they were beaten to death.
Some of the interrogators' names surfaced this week during the hearings at Guantanamo.
During proceedings Thursday for Toronto-born Omar Khadr, prosecutors revealed his questioners at Bagram included Army Sgt. Joshua R. Claus, who admitted at a 2005 court-martial that he forced water down the throat of one of the Afghans who died. No one has been charged in the death.
Claus, who was sentenced to five months in prison for assaulting the detainee, said he constantly felt pressure at Bagram to quickly gather information, causing him frustration and anger.
Khadr's attorney, Navy Lt. Cmdr. William Kuebler, said he believes prosecutors will rely on statements "extracted" from Khadr at Bagram, where he was taken after he allegedly threw a grenade that killed a U.S. Special Forces soldier during a firefight. Khadr was only 15 during the firefight, during which he was shot twice in the back.
"His principal interrogator was somebody we know was involved in detainee abuse," Kuebler told reporters. "I think that creates an overwhelming lack of confidence in the government's evidence."
Khadr's lawyers have asked the government to detail the interrogation techniques used on their client at Bagram.
Khadr and another detainee facing trial, Ahmed Mohammed Ahmed Haza al-Darbi, were guarded at Bagram by members of the 519th Military Intelligence Battalion. At least four soldiers in the unit, which is based in Fort Bragg, N.C., were prosecuted for alleged abuse at Bagram.
Al-Darbi, a Saudi arraigned Thursday for allegedly plotting in 2001-02 to attack a ship in the Strait of Hormuz or off the coast of Yemen, has charged he was abused during questioning at Bagram.
He says his interrogator was Pfc. Damien M. Corsetti, a counterintelligence specialist who was acquitted of charges including dereliction of duty, maltreatment and assault in a 2006 court-martial. Prosecutors at the court-martial said fellow soldiers called him the "King of Torture."
Al-Darbi's attorney, Army Lt. Col. Bryan Broyles, said that Corsetti struck his client and that he and other soldiers left the Saudi hanging from his handcuffs during extended interrogations.
In this week's third case, a 23-year-old Afghan detainee who was dragged out of his cell at Guantanamo for his first pretrial hearing Wednesday complained about his treatment at Bagram and Guantanamo, and then refused to cooperate in what he described as unfair proceedings.
"When I was in detention at Bagram, Americans killed three people. They beat people and arrested us without trial. We're not given any rights," Mohammed Jawad told the judge.
It was unclear what deaths he was referring to.
The U.S. military says it plans to prosecute about 80 of the roughly 275 detainees at Guantanamo. Fourteen have been charged, but none of the cases has gone to trial.
The only conviction has come in the case of David Hicks, an Australian who was returned home to serve a nine-month sentence under a plea deal that requires him to remain silent about any alleged abuse in U.S. custody.
MyWay
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