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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 |
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| 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. | 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 being tortured by an Afghan-American named Zakaria Kandahari, whom the officials identified as the chief interpreter for an American Army Special Forces A Team stationed at the base. 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 base, in Nerkh District in Wardak Province. Mohammad Hanif Hanafi, the 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 corpse was largely complete, except both feet had been cut off. Afghan officials say the partial remains and clothing of another missing person had been found earlier near the base, which is now occupied by Afghan Special Forces after the American unit left in March. | Relatives of Mr. Mohammad said his corpse was largely complete, except both feet had been cut off. Afghan officials say the partial remains and clothing of another missing person had been found earlier near the base, which is now occupied by Afghan Special Forces after the American unit left in March. |
| 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. | 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 they do not have Mr. Kandahari and do not know where he is; 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 Defense Ministry, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that investigators had now raised the toll of missing and dead to 17 people, all of whom were said to have been seized by the A Team in Nerkh. He provided names for all 17, and none has since been seen alive: adding in the latest body to be discovered, eight are still missing and nine have been found dead. | The senior Afghan investigator for Defense Ministry, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that investigators had now raised the toll of missing and dead to 17 people, all of whom were said to have been seized by the A Team in Nerkh. He provided names for all 17, and none has since been seen alive: adding in the latest body to be discovered, eight are still missing and nine have been found dead. |
| Although there has been no testimony directly tying American soldiers to the abuse or killing of those detainees, the investigator questioned whom Mr. Kandahari answered to. “There is no question that Zakaria directly tortured and murdered,” he 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.” | Although there has been no testimony directly tying American soldiers to the abuse or killing of those detainees, the investigator questioned whom Mr. Kandahari answered to. “There is no question that Zakaria directly tortured and murdered,” he 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. |
| 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 knocking him over. | 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 knocking him over. |
| The American military has described Mr. Kandahari as a freelance interpreter who had volunteered to help the American Special Forces, who allowed him to live at their base in exchange. | The American military has described Mr. Kandahari as a freelance interpreter who had volunteered to help the American Special Forces, who allowed him to live at their base in exchange. |
| 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. | 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. |
| After a series of Afghan government investigations, officials demanded that American authorities turn over Mr. Kandahari. But American officials told the Afghans that he had escaped, which infuriated Mr. Karzai, and he then demanded that all American Special Operations forces 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. | After a series of Afghan government investigations, officials demanded that American authorities turn over Mr. Kandahari. But American officials told the Afghans that he had escaped, which infuriated Mr. Karzai, and he then demanded that all American Special Operations forces 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. |
| The senior Afghan investigator rejected the American suggestions that Mr. Kandahari could have escaped without official help. “He is not someone who can leave the camp at midnight,” the official said. “He was such a criminal that he could not stay one hour outside the base by himself.” | The senior Afghan investigator rejected the American suggestions that Mr. Kandahari could have escaped without official help. “He is not someone who can leave the camp at midnight,” the official said. “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. | |
| Col. Thomas W. Collins, a spokesman for the American military who was asked about the case, said: “All I can say is that we had absolutely nothing to do with that man’s death.” | Col. Thomas W. Collins, a spokesman for the American military who was asked about the case, said: “All I can say is that we had absolutely nothing to do with that man’s death.” |
Alissa J. Rubin contributed reporting from Kabul. | Alissa J. Rubin contributed reporting from Kabul. |