instead of showering this man with virgins we indict him on murder charges....let's hope muslim extremists never stoop to these lows

U.S. indicts CIA contractor in Afghanistan prison death
By Terry Frieden
CNN Washington Bureau
Thursday, June 17, 2004 Posted: 4:56 PM EDT (2056 GMT)


Attorney General John Ashcroft announces details of the indictment Thursday.

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A contractor working for the CIA has been indicted on charges stemming from the death of a prisoner at a prison in Afghanistan, Justice Department officials said.

It is the first time charges have been brought against a civilian since the reports of alleged prison abuse in Iraq and Afghanistan surfaced in the past few months.

The four-count indictment says the contractor, David Passaro, 38, beat an Afghan prisoner identified as Abdul Wali, who had surrendered voluntarily at the front gate of a U.S. detention facility near Asadabad in the northeastern Kunar Province on June 18, 2003.

The remote site, which had been under frequent rocket attack, is about five miles from the Pakistani border, where remnants of the Taliban and al Qaeda remain active.

A federal grand jury in Raleigh, North Carolina, returned the indictment, which includes two counts of assault causing serious injury and two counts of assault with a deadly weapon.

Each count carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine upon conviction. Federal law allows civilian charges to be brought against U.S. citizens for crimes overseas if they are not under military jurisdiction.

After a brief court appearance Thursday, Passaro was ordered to remain in custody pending a detention hearing set for next Tuesday.

Attorney General John Ashcroft said at a Thursday news conference that Wali was suspected of participating in the attacks on the Asadabad base and that Passaro's job was to assist military personnel detain prisoners at the base.

While in custody, Wali was interrogated by Passaro about the rocket attacks, Ashcroft said.

"During these interrogations on June 19 and June 20, it is alleged that Passaro beat Wali repeatedly using his hands and feet and a large flashlight," Ashcroft said, quoting from the indictment.

"Abdul Wali died in a cell on Asadabad Base on June 21, 2003," the indictment says.

Passaro, a former U.S. Army Ranger, had arrived at the base at the beginning of June, a U.S. official said.

Ashcroft said the case would be fully investigated.

"President Bush has made it clear that the U.S. will not tolerate criminal acts of brutality such as those alleged in this indictment," he said in a prepared statement. "The types of illegal abuse detailed run counter to our values and our policies and are not representative of our men and women in the military and associated personnel serving honorably and admirably for the cause of freedom."

Passaro, of Lillington, North Carolina, was arrested Thursday morning at his workplace in Fayetteville.

Officials said Passaro was to have an initial appearance Thursday afternoon at the federal courthouse in Raleigh.

The Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR), a New York-based legal advocacy group, said it sent a letter to the Pentagon last year demanding an investigation into the death of Wali. The November 12 CCR letter also called for an investigation into the deaths of two Afghan detainees in U.S. custody at the Bagram military base in Afghanistan.

The CIA inspector general has referred several cases to the Justice Department for investigation.

A U.S. official said Thursday that Passaro had worked as a contractor for the CIA since December 2002.

CIA spokesman Mark Mansfield issued a statement saying, "We take allegations of wrongdoing very seriously, and it is important to bear in mind that CIA immediately reported these allegations to the agency's inspector general and the Department of Justice."

U.S. officials say there are a number of private contractors working for the CIA in Afghanistan and Iraq. They declined to say how many.

CNN National Security Correspondent David Ensor contributed to this report

learn to read, think about what you wrote and then come back to me because obviously, you didn't comprehend what i was saying

lol @ the North Carolina connection.

If the guy was a solider the death would have been overlooked