Ex-CIA Worker Found Guilty In Death Of Afghan (in US custody)

http://cbs3.com/topstories/topstories_story_229112630.html

(AP) RALEIGH, N.C. A former CIA contractor was found guilty Thursday of assaulting an Afghan detainee who later died.

David Passaro, 40, was the first American civilian to be charged with mistreating a detainee during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. A federal jury convicted him on three counts of simple assault and one count of assault resulting in serious bodily injury.

Passaro, who was not charged with the detainee's death, faces up to 11 1/2 years in prison.

Prosecutors said at least three paratroopers from the Army's 82nd Airborne Division watched Passaro, working under contract to the CIA, beat Wali during two days of questioning in June 2003 about rocket attacks on a remote base housing U.S. and Afghan troops.

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Sullivan said Wali was chained to the floor and wall of a cell as Passaro kicked him, and struck him with the flashlight and his fists. Once, he said, Passaro kicked Wali in the groin, lining up like a placekicker in football. Passaro's fingerprints were in batteries from the flashlight, Sullivan said, adding that photos will detail the extent of Wali's injuries.

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background:

Prisoner Deaths in U.S. Custody

(03-16) 11:30 PST , (AP) --


Using information provided by the military and documents obtained by the American Civil Liberties Union, The Associated Press compiled a partial list of people who have died while in U.S. custody in Iraq and Afghanistan.


Prisoner deaths investigated as involving criminal homicide or abuse by U.S. personnel:


_Mohammed Sayari, Afghanistan, April 28, 2002. Army Special Forces captain reprimanded.


_Mullah Habibullah, about 28, Bagram, Afghanistan, Dec. 3, 2002. Sgt. James P. Boland, 377th Military Police Company, charged with dereliction of duty; more charges possible against others.


_Dilawar, 22, Bagram, Dec. 10, 2002. Pfc. Willie V. Brand, 377th Military Police Company, charged with involuntary manslaughter, according to documents obtained by Human Rights Watch. Boland charged with dereliction, assault and maltreatment, more charges possible against others.

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_Abdul Wali, 28, Asadabad, Afghanistan, June 2, 2003. CIA contractor David Passaro charged with assault.

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New Probes Of Prison Deaths

CBS/AP) The Army has reopened investigations into two prisoner deaths in Iraq that had previously been attributed to natural causes, an official with the service said.

New information led investigators to question the causes of the deaths, the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

The Army's Criminal Investigations Division will make a final determination whether either death should be reclassified as a homicide, the official said.

The official had no specifics on either death.

Last month, Army officials said medical investigators had attributed the deaths of 15 prisoners in Iraq and Afghanistan to natural causes. That figure may have changed, but officials have declined to provide updated numbers.

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June 21, 2003: Abdul Wali, an Afghan prisoner at Asadabad, Afghanistan, died three days after turning himself in to U.S. authorities. A contractor for the CIA, 38-year-old David A. Passaro of Lillington, N.C., has been charged with two counts each of assault and assault with a dangerous weapon — a flashlight — in connection with his death.

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I think this is exactly the kind of thing the Bush mob are trying to legalize.