The U.S. Army announced on January 26, 2007, that two Special Forces soldiers had received administrative reprimands for assaulting detainees in Afghanistan in 2003 and for failing to report the death of one detainee.  However the soldiers were absolved of any wrongdoing in the deaths of two detainees that occurred while the detainees were in the custody of Special Forces team ODA 2021.

The reprimands followed an Army investigation launched after the Crimes of War Project and the Los Angeles Times published reports suggesting that the Special Forces unit had been responsible for two unlawful deaths and the serious mistreatment of several other detainees while based near Gardez in south-eastern Afghanistan.

The detainees both died in 2003 while in the charge of soldiers from the 20th Special Forces Group of the Alabama National Guard. Jamal Naseer, an 18-year-old Afghan army recruit, died after interrogation at the base in Gardez.  Wakil Muhammad, a woodcutter from the village of Wazi, was shot in the face while being detained for questioning after a Special Forces search operation.  

The detainee deaths went unreported by the military until a Crimes of War Project /Los Angeles Times special investigation uncovered them as well as other evidence of the abusive interrogation of detainees.  The reports led the Army to open criminal inquiries into the incidents.  The administrative reprimands against the soldiers came more than two years after the Army began their investigation.

The two soldiers were each given a “General Officer Memorandum of Reprimand” – a sanction that is given without a criminal trial.  Although reprimands are not technically regarded as a form of punishment, they are likely to reduce the promotion prospects of an officer who receives one and can end a military career.  In this case, a statement released by the Special Forces Command indicated that the assault charges related to the “slapping of detainees.”  The statement also said that the soldier who shot Wakil Muhammad had been acting in self-defense.  It added that “all other allegations, to include voluntary manslaughter and aggravated assault of detainee Jamal Naseer, were found to be unsubstantiated.”

The Special Forces statement did not name the two soldiers who received the reprimand, and did not make clear which death had given rise to the penalty for failing to report it.

The comparatively mild penalties imposed in this case stand in notable contrast to the detailed findings of the Crimes of War Project/Los Angeles Times investigation.  That investigation quoted numerous witnesses who saw Naseer’s body, before and after his death, and described it as bruised and swollen with signs of severe beating and blunt force trauma.  It also quoted other detainees held at the same time who said they were kicked, struck and forced to stand in stress positions.  Some of these findings were supported by doctors who examined the detainees after being moved from the Special Forces compound.  The investigation also quoted witnesses to the death of Wakil Muhammad who said he was unarmed and pleading not to be shot when he was killed. 

The Army’s investigation was conducted by its Criminal Investigation Command and concluded on January 11 of this year.  Maj. James O. Gregory, a spokesman for Special Forces Command, told the Los Angeles Times that the command “takes all allegations of abuse seriously, ensuring that they are thoroughly investigated and appropriate action is taken.”

The Crimes of War Project/Los Angeles Times investigations can be found on the Crimes of War Project’s website:

http://www.crimesofwar.org/onnews/news-gardez1.html

http://www.crimesofwar.org/onnews/news-gardez2.html

http://www.crimesofwar.org/special/afghan/news-tortureafghan.html

Related Links:

Yet Again U.S. Special Forces Escape Criminal Punishment for Torture and Death of Afghan Detainees

Human Rights First

January 29, 2007

Army finds probable cause in Afghans' torture, death

LA Times

January 26, 2007

2 soldiers reprimanded for assaults

LA Times

January 27, 2007

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