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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
(about 4 hours 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 — The footless corpse of an Afghan man missing since November was found on Tuesday near the former 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 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. 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 Nerkh district of Wardak Province. The American military denies that Mr. Kandahari is an American citizen, and said he was no longer working for the A Team when the video was made.
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. 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. Mohammad Hanif Hanafi, the Nerkh District governor, said it was found by laborers digging a water ditch when they unearthed what appeared to be a military-style black body bag.
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 corpse was largely complete, except both of his feet had been cut off. They took his remains to the Nerkh district government center in protest. The partial remains and clothing of another missing person were earlier found near the base, family members and Afghan officials have said.
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. Afghan officials are seeking Mr. Kandahari’s arrest on murder, torture and abuse of prisoner charges, 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 Afghan-American. American military officials have insisted they do not have Mr. Zakaria and do not know his whereabouts; they also say that repeated military investigations into the disappearances and murders of at least 15 people from Wardak Province have shown no wrongdoing by American soldiers. The results of those investigations, however, have not been made public.
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. The senior Afghan investigator for the Ministry of Defense, 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 peoples’ names. And while there was no testimony tying American soldiers directly to abuse of those detainees, the investigator said, none of them have 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 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. On that video, officials who have seen it said, a furious Mr. Kandahari in military uniform can be seen repeatedly kicking a seated and handcuffed Mr. Mohammad, sometimes so severely it knocked him over.
The American military has described Mr. Kandahari as a freelance translator who was working “pro bono” for the American Special Forces at Nerkh, who allowed him to live at their base in exchange for his help.
Afghan officials, however, described Mr. Kandahari as having a leadership role and conducting operations on his own initiative, including detaining suspects and taking them into the Special Forces base last November and December, when the disappearances occurred. The American military withdrew the Special Forces A Team from Nerkh in March, after public protests from family members, and a series of Afghan government investigations into the disappearances.
The investigations prompted Afghan officials to demand that American authorities turn over Mr. Kandahari, but American officials told the Afghans that he had escaped, which infuriated Mr. Karzai, who then demanded that all Special Forces units leave Wardak, a troubled province as little as an hour’s drive from the capital. A compromise was struck in which only the team in Nerkh was removed.
“What we want from ISAF is their cooperation,” the senior Afghan investigator said, referring to the International Security Assistance Force, as the American-led coalition is called. “They should bring Zakaria and surrender him to the Afghan government.” The official rejected suggestions that he had escaped, saying he could not have done so without official help. “He is not someone who can leave the camp at midnight, he was such a criminal that he could not stay one hour outside the base by himself.”
Mr. Mohammad, a farmer from Karim Dad village, was 23 when he was arrested on Nov. 21 by A Team members on quad bikes, the investigator said. He is survived by a wife, a daughter and two sons, according to his father, Sher Mohammad.
“All I can say is that we had absolutely nothing to do with that man’s death,” said Col. Thomas W. Collins, a spokesman for the American military.

Alissa J. Rubin contributed reporting from Kabul.