Civilian charged over prisoner's death in Afghanistan

Attorney General John Ashcroft said Passaro was accused of “brutally assaulting” the man while questioning him over two days.

The prisoner, identified as Abdul Wali, was being held at a US detention facility in Asadabad, in the Kunar province of Afghanistan. Court documents say Wali had surrendere and was being questioned by Passaro about frequent rocket attacks directed at the American facility, close to the Pakistan border.

Ashcroft said al Qaida and Taliban fighters were common in that part of the region.

Wali died in his prison cell after Passaro beat him “using his hands and feet and a large flashlight” during two days of interrogations, the indictment said.

Passaro, 38, of Lillington, North Carolina, was to appear in federal court in Raleigh. The indictment does not say whether he worked for a specific company but says he was in Afghanistan “on behalf of the CIA, engaging in paramilitary activities.”

The CIA often uses independent contractors who are hired for short-term assignments. While they are sometimes recruited by and work through a private company, the individuals can also be contracted directly by the agency.

They are known as “green badgers” for the colour of their ID cards. Regular employees have blue badges.

The death of Wali is one of three detainee deaths being investigated by the Justice Department and the CIA’s inspector general in Iraq and Afghanistan, where allegations of abuse include reports from former prisoners of hoodings, beatings and sexual abuse. The Justice Department declined to bring charges over a fourth death.

The indictment charges Passaro with two counts each of assault and assault with a dangerous weapon – the flashlight. If convicted, he faces a total of up to 40 years in prison and up to a $1m (€830,000) fine. Federal law allows civilian charges to be brought against US citizens for crimes overseas if they are not under military jurisdiction.

“We take allegations of wrongdoing very seriously, and it is important to bear in mind that the CIA immediately reported these allegations to the agency’s inspector general and the Department of Justice,” said CIA spokesman Mark Mansfield.

“While we cannot comment on specifics of this case, given that it is currently before the courts, the CIA does not support or condone unlawful activities of any sort and has an obligation to report possible violations of the law to the appropriate authorities,” he said.

“This was done promptly.”

The charges come amid multiple ongoing investigations by the Defence Department and other agencies into allegations of prisoner abuse at Iraq’s Abu Ghraib prison. No civilians have been charged yet, although Ashcroft said the Defence Department had referred one case to the Justice Department for investigation. Seven soldiers were charged by the military.

Democratic lawmakers and other critics say the Bush administration set the legal stage for the abuse by circulating a series of memos that appear to justify use of torture and argue that the President’s wartime powers trump laws meant to protect prisoners.

President Bush and Ashcroft have repeatedly said that no orders were given to the military or CIA that would violate US anti-torture laws or protection afforded by the Geneva Conventions.

Some 2,000 prisoners have been held at the jails since US troops entered Afghanistan in late 2001 to topple the Taliban regime for granting sanctuary to Osama bin Laden and his al Qaida network, according to the military.