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Torture Victim’s Body Is Found Near U.S. Base, Afghans Say Torture Victim’s Body Is Found Near U.S. Base, Afghans Say
(35 minutes later)
KABUL, Afghanistan — Family members on Tuesday found the body of a man missing since last November near the American Special Forces base to which he was last seen being taken, according to Afghan officials and victims’ representatives.KABUL, Afghanistan — Family members on Tuesday found the body of a man missing since last November near the American Special Forces base to which he was last seen being taken, according to Afghan officials and victims’ representatives.
Afghan investigators said that after his disappearance, the victim, Sayid Mohammad, was seen in a video undergoing torture at the hands of an Afghan-American named Zakaria Kandahari, who was the chief translator for an American Army Special Forces A Team stationed at the base in the Nerkh district of Wardak Province. Afghan investigators said that after his disappearance, the man, Sayid Mohammad, was seen in a video undergoing torture at the hands of an Afghan-American named Zakaria Kandahari, who was the chief translator for an American Army Special Forces A Team stationed at the base in the Nerkh district of Wardak Province.
Mr. Mohammad’s body was found about 200 yards outside the perimeter of the Nerkh base, which is now occupied by Afghan special forces after the American unit was removed after protests by Afghan officials, including President Hamid Karzai. Mr. Mohammad’s body was found about 200 yards outside the perimeter of the Nerkh base, which is now occupied by Afghan special forces after the American unit was removed following protests by Afghan officials, including President Hamid Karzai.
Relatives of Mr. Mohammad said his body was largely intact but both of his feet had been cut off. They took his remains to the Nerkh district government center in protest. The partial remains of another missing person were also found near the base, family members and Afghan officials have said.Relatives of Mr. Mohammad said his body was largely intact but both of his feet had been cut off. They took his remains to the Nerkh district government center in protest. The partial remains of another missing person were also found near the base, family members and Afghan officials have said.
Afghan officials have said they are seeking Mr. Kandahari’s arrest on murder, torture and prisoner abuse charges, and accuse the American military of shielding him from capture. Afghan officials have said they are seeking Mr. Kandahari’s arrest on charges of murder, torture and prisoner abuse, and accuse the American military of shielding him from capture.
American military officials have insisted that they do not have Mr. Kandahari and do not know his whereabouts. They also say that military investigations into the disappearances and murders of at least 15 people from Wardak Province have shown no wrongdoing by American soldiers. The American military also maintains that Mr. Kandahari is an Afghan citizen, not an Afghan American. American military officials have insisted that they do not have Mr. Kandahari and do not know his whereabouts. They also say that military investigations into the disappearances and murders of at least 15 people from Wardak Province have shown no wrongdoing by American soldiers. The American military also maintains that Mr. Kandahari is an Afghan citizen, not Afghan-American.
The senior Afghan investigator for the Defense Ministry, who asked to speak anonymously in line with his division’s policy, said that investigators had now raised the toll of missing and dead to 17 people, all of whom disappeared after having been taken into custody by the A Team in Nerkh district. He provided a list of those victims’ names. And while there was no testimony tying American soldiers directly to abuse of those detainees, the investigator said, none of them had been seen alive since. Nine are still missing up to six months later and eight have been found dead. His figures did not include the latest body to be discovered, which would mean that of the 17, 8 are still missing and 9 have been found dead. The senior Afghan investigator for the Defense Ministry, who asked to speak anonymously in line with his division’s policy, said that investigators had now raised the number of missing and dead to 17 people, all of whom disappeared after having been taken into custody by the A Team in Nerkh district. He provided a list of those peoples’ names. And while there was no testimony tying American soldiers directly to abuse of those detainees, the investigator said, none of them had been seen alive since. Nine are still missing up to six months later and eight have been found dead. His figures did not include the latest body to be discovered, which would mean that of the 17, 8 are still missing and 9 have been found dead.
“There is no question that Zakaria directly tortured and murdered,” the investigator said. “But who is Zakaria? Who recruited him, gave him his salary, his weapons? Who kept him under their protection? He worked for Special Forces. That a member of their team was committing such crimes and they didn’t know it is just not credible.”“There is no question that Zakaria directly tortured and murdered,” the investigator said. “But who is Zakaria? Who recruited him, gave him his salary, his weapons? Who kept him under their protection? He worked for Special Forces. That a member of their team was committing such crimes and they didn’t know it is just not credible.”
The Afghan investigator, however, disputed earlier Afghan official accounts that suggested an American voice could be heard in the videotaped session of Mr. Mohammad’s torture and he said the torture session took place in Afghan government offices in Nerkh district, not on the base itself. The videotape has not been released publicly. The Afghan investigator, however, disputed earlier Afghan official accounts that suggested an American voice could be heard in the videotaped session of Mr. Mohammad’s torture, and he said the torture session took place in Afghan government offices in Nerkh district, not on the base itself. The videotape has not been released publicly.
Mr. Mohammad, a farmer from Karim Dad village, was 23 when he was arrested on Nov. 21 by A Team members on quad bikes. He is survived by a wife, a daughter and two sons, according to his father, Sher Mohammad.Mr. Mohammad, a farmer from Karim Dad village, was 23 when he was arrested on Nov. 21 by A Team members on quad bikes. He is survived by a wife, a daughter and two sons, according to his father, Sher Mohammad.