KABUL, 25 August 2005 — Afghan human rights officials yesterday described as “unbelievably lenient” the sentences US military courts have handed down to American soldiers convicted of abusing two Afghan detainees who later died.
One soldier has been sentenced to two months in prison, another to three months. A third was demoted and given a letter of reprimand and a fine. A fourth was given a reduction in rank and pay.
“These punishments are a joke. They all should have got 20 years in prison or be sentenced to death,” said Ahmad Shah Midad, a member of the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission. “A person’s life has been taken. They must be punished properly.”
The courts-martial had occurred in the US state of Texas over the past few weeks. The soldiers were charged in relation to the deaths of two Afghans who were in detention at Bagram, the main US base in Afghanistan, in late 2002.
One of the two was a 22-year-old taxi driver known only as Dilawar. The other was Mullah Habibullah, who was about 30. The Army has publicly acknowledged the two deaths and announced in October that up to 28 US soldiers face possible charges.
According to Human Rights Watch, which said it has obtained unreleased Army reports about the deaths, the two men were chained to the ceiling in standing positions, one at the waist and one by the wrists, while their feet remained on the ground. One of them was maimed over a five-day period, dying with his leg muscle tissue destroyed from blows to the knees and lower body, the New York-based rights group has said.
An autopsy performed by a medical examiner showed that Dilawar’s legs were so damaged by blows that amputation would have been necessary, according to an Army report dated July 6, 2004.
Habibullah died of a pulmonary embolism apparently caused by blood clots formed in his legs from the beatings, according to a June 1, 2004, US military report.
A spokesman for the Afghan human rights commission, a state-funded body, said the sentences were “disappointing.” “It’s unbelievably lenient that these soldiers received such light sentences,” said Ahmad Nader Nadery. “We want the United States to justify to us why these people have received such leniency.” A spokesman for President Hamid Karzai said he wasn’t immediately able to comment.
Meanwhile, 11 suspected Taleban rebels, including a local commander, died in two separate raids by US and Afghan troops ahead of Afghanistan’s key parliamentary elections, officials said. Five Taleban were killed and two were arrested early yesterday during an operation in Chora district of strife-torn Uruzgan province, which is in southern Afghanistan.
“The joint forces launched an operation in the area and after hours of fighting they killed the five Taleban, among them a famous Taleban commander called Mullah Painday Mohammed,” Uruzgan governor Jan Mohammed told AFP. A large cache of weapons and explosives were also seized, he added.
Six more Taleban were killed on Tuesday when joint forces surrounded a house in Sahak, a remote village in the restive southern province of Zabul, where the rebels were manufacturing remote-controlled roadside bombs, an official said. “After more than one hour’s exchange of fire, six Taleban were killed and lots of weapons, explosives and remote-control devices were seized,” said provincial spokesman Gulab Shah Ali Khail.
There were no casualties amongst the Afghan or US-led troops, he said. Militants from the ousted Taleban regime have stepped up attacks before the polls on Sept. 18.
