View source for Bagram torture and prisoner abuse

{{Short description|Early 2000s torture by American soldiers in Bagram, Afghanistan}}
[[File:Bagram Theater Internment Facility sally port.jpg|thumb|300px|right|A [[sally port]] used in the transfer of internees to and from the 12-man cells during the nine years that the "temporary" facility was in use.]]
In 2005, ''[[The New York Times]]'' obtained a 2,000-page [[United States Army]] investigatory report concerning the [[homicide]]s of two unarmed [[civilian]] [[Afghans|Afghan]] prisoners by [[Military of the United States|U.S. military personnel]] in December 2002 at the [[Bagram Theater Internment Facility]] (also ''Bagram Collection Point'' or ''B.C.P.'') in [[Bagram]], [[Afghanistan]] and general treatment of prisoners. The two prisoners, [[Habibullah (Bagram detainee)|Habibullah]] and [[Dilawar (torture victim)|Dilawar]], were repeatedly chained to the ceiling and beaten, resulting in their deaths. Military [[coroner]]s ruled that both the prisoners' deaths were homicides. [[Autopsy|Autopsies]] revealed severe trauma to both prisoners' legs, describing the trauma as comparable to being run over by a bus. Seven soldiers were charged in 2005.
Hajimumin, another prisoner, told [[Al Jazeera Media Network|Al Jazeera]]<ref>{{Cite web |last=Pikulicka-Wilczewska |first=Agnieszka |title=At Afghanistan's 'Guantanamo', ex-inmates recount abuse, torture |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/9/22/life-in-bagram-through-the-eyes-of-former-prisoners |access-date=2024-09-16 |website=Al Jazeera |language=en}}</ref> newspaper that they tied them to chairs and applied electric shocks for 30 seconds a time for torture purposes.
==Location==
[[File:Bagram Airbase Hospital.PNG|thumb|The former hospital on-base, where lawyer [[Dennis Edney]] alleges abuse of [[Omar Khadr]] began.<ref>Chow, Kara. [http://www.cageprisoners.com/articles.php?id=26450 Omar Khadr's lawyer visits TRU] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090202170132/http://www.cageprisoners.com/articles.php?id=26450 |date=2009-02-02 }}, CagePrisoners, 10 September 2008</ref>]]The alleged torture and homicides took place at the military detention center known as the Bagram Theater Internment Facility, which had been built by the [[Soviet Union|Soviets]] as an aircraft machine shop during the [[Soviet invasion of Afghanistan]] (1980–1989), which was a [[concrete]]-and-[[sheet metal]] facility that was [[retrofit]]ted with wire pens and wooden isolation cells; the center was part of [[Bagram Air Base]] in the ancient city of [[Bagram]], near [[Charikar]] in [[Parwan Province|Parvan]], Afghanistan.{{Citation needed|date=May 2024}}
==Detainees==
In January 2010, the American military released the names of 645 detainees held at the main detention center at Bagram, modifying its long-held position against publishing such information. This was to comply with a [[Freedom of Information Act (United States)|Freedom of Information Act]] lawsuit filed in September 2009 by the [[American Civil Liberties Union]], whose lawyers had also demanded detailed information about conditions, rules and regulations at the center.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/17/world/asia/17afghan.html |title=Bagram Detainees Named by U.S. |work=The New York Times |date=16 January 2010 |access-date=2017-01-31 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170207002051/http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/17/world/asia/17afghan.html |archive-date=2017-02-07 |url-status=live |last1=Rubin |first1=Alissa J. |last2=Rahimi |first2=Sangar }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8462894.stm |title=US releases names of prisoners at Bagram, Afghanistan |date=16 January 2010 |access-date=2010-01-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100117084846/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8462894.stm |archive-date=2010-01-17 |url-status=live }}</ref>
==Victims==
===Habibullah===
{{Main|Habibullah (Bagram detainee)}}
Habibullah died on December 4, 2002. Several U.S. soldiers hit the chained man with so-called "[[peroneal strike]]s," or severe blows to the side of the leg above the knee. This incapacitates the leg by hitting the [[Common fibular nerve|common peroneal nerve]].<ref>[https://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/imagepages/9211.htm Common peroneal nerve dysfunction] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160706020053/https://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/imagepages/9211.htm |date=2016-07-06 }}, ''[[MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia]]''</ref> According to ''The New York Times'':
{{blockquote|By Dec. 3, Mr. Habibullah's reputation for defiance seemed to make him an open target. [He had taken at least 9 peroneal strikes from two MPs for being "noncompliant and combative."]
... When Sgt. James P. Boland saw Mr. Habibullah on Dec. 3, he was in one of the isolation cells, tethered to the ceiling by two sets of handcuffs and a chain around his waist. His body was slumped forward, held up by the chains. Sergeant Boland ... had entered the cell with [Specialists Anthony M. Morden and Brian E. Cammack]...
...kneeing the prisoner sharply in the thigh, "maybe a couple" of times. Mr. Habibullah's limp body swayed back and forth in the chains.<ref name=NYTimes20050520a>{{Cite news
|first        = Tim
|last         = Golden
|url          = https://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/20/international/asia/20abuse.html?ex=1274241600&en=4579c146cb14cfd6&ei=5088
|title        = In U.S. Report, Brutal Details of 2 Afghan Inmates' Deaths
|work         = [[The New York Times]]
|date         = May 20, 2005
|access-date  = 2017-01-31
|archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20071224182826/http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/20/international/asia/20abuse.html?ex=1274241600&en=4579c146cb14cfd6&ei=5088
|archive-date = 2007-12-24
|url-status     = live
}}</ref>}}
===Dilawar===
{{Main|Dilawar (torture victim)}}
[[File:Bagram prisoner abuse.184.1.450.jpg|thumb|A sketch showing how Dilawar was chained to the ceiling of his cell by Thomas V. Curtis, a former [[Sergeant#United States|sergeant]] in the [[United States Army Reserve|Reserve]] [[United States Army Military Police Corps]]]]
[[Dilawar (torture victim)|Dilawar]], who died on December 10, 2002, was a 22-year-old Afghan [[taxicab|taxi]] driver and farmer who weighed 122 pounds and was described by his interpreters as neither violent nor aggressive.{{Citation needed|date=May 2024}}<ref>{{Cite news |last=Golden |first=Tim |date=2005-05-20 |title=Chained, tortured and left to die in cell |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/may/21/afghanistan |access-date=2024-09-20 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>
When beaten, he repeatedly cried "[[Allah]]!" The outcry appears to have amused U.S. military personnel. The act of striking him in order to provoke a scream of "Allah!" eventually "became a kind of running joke," according to one of the MP's. "People kept showing up to give this detainee a common [[fibula|peroneal]] strike just to hear him scream out 'Allah,'" he said. "It went on over a 24-hour period, and I would think that it was over 100 strikes."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wibowo |first=Agustinus |date=11 July 2007 |title=Kabul – Nine Afghan Prisoners from Bagram |url=https://agustinuswibowo.com/2209/kabul-nine-afghan-prisoners-from-bagram/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170426222957/https://agustinuswibowo.com/2209/kabul-nine-afghan-prisoners-from-bagram/ |archive-date=26 April 2017 |access-date=2024-01-18 |website=Agustinus Wibowo |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Olovsson |first=Tommy |date=2021-09-23 |title=Afghanistan: Bagram Victims Recount Stories Of Abuse & Torture |url=https://anews.se/archives/4227 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230926120709/https://anews.se/archives/4227 |archive-date=26 September 2023 |access-date=2024-01-18 |website=ANEWS |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=KHAWAJA UMER FAROOQ |date=23 March 2013 |title=Pakistan Affairs |url=https://pakistan769.rssing.com/chan-9726206/all_p1.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200128153722/https://pakistan769.rssing.com/chan-9726206/all_p1.html |archive-date=28 January 2020 |access-date=2024-01-18 |website=pakistan769.rssing.com}}</ref>
The ''Times'' reported that:
{{blockquote|On the day of his death, Dilawar had been chained by the wrists to the top of his cell for much of the previous four days.
A guard tried to force the young man to his knees. But his legs, which had been pummeled by guards for several days, could no longer bend. An interrogator told Mr. Dilawar that he could see a doctor after they finished with him. When he was finally sent back to his cell, though, the guards were instructed only to chain the prisoner back to the ceiling.
"Leave him up," one of the guards quoted Specialist Claus as saying. Several hours passed before an emergency room doctor finally saw Mr. Dilawar. By then he was dead, his body beginning to stiffen.
It would be many months before Army investigators learned a final horrific detail: Most of the interrogators had believed Mr. Dilawar was an innocent man who simply drove his taxi past the American base at the wrong time.<ref name=NYTimes20050520b>{{Cite news
|first        = Tim
|last         = Golden
|url          = https://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/22/international/asia/22abuse.html?ex=1274414400&en=35951e72c65a2185&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
|title        = Army Faltered in Investigating Detainee Abuse
|work         = [[The New York Times]]
|date         = May 22, 2005
|access-date   = 2007-09-21
|archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20071225040413/http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/22/international/asia/22abuse.html?ex=1274414400&en=35951e72c65a2185&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
|archive-date = 2007-12-25
|url-status     = live
}}</ref>}}
In the documentary ''[[Taxi to the Dark Side]]'' (2007), directed by American filmmaker [[Alex Gibney]], there was a claim that Dilawar was captured while driving through militia territory, not going past Bagram air base. The militia stopped him at a roadblock and transferred him to the U.S. Army for a monetary reward, claiming he was a terrorist.{{Citation needed|date=May 2024}}
===Aafia Siddiqui/Prisoner 650===
{{Main|Aafia Siddiqui}}
[[Aafia Siddiqui]], a Pakistani citizen educated in the United States as a [[Neuroscientist]], was suspected of the attempted [[assault]] and killing of U.S. personnel in Afghanistan. She disappeared in 2003 with her three children. She was allegedly detained for five years at Bagram with her children; she was the only female prisoner. She was known to the male detainees as "Prisoner 650." The media dubbed her as the "[[Mata Hari]] of al-Qaida" or the "Grey Lady of Bagram." [[Yvonne Ridley]] says that Siddiqui is the "Grey Lady of Bagram" – a ghostly female detainee, who kept prisoners awake "with her haunting sobs and piercing screams". In 2005 male prisoners were so agitated by her plight, Ridley said, that they went on a [[hunger strike]] for six days. Siddiqui's family maintains that she was abused at Bagram.<ref name="Guardian Walsh">{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/nov/24/aafia-siddiqui-al-qaida |title=The mystery of Dr Aafia Siddiqui |first=Declan |last=Walsh |work=[[guardian.co.uk]] |date=2009-11-24 |access-date=2013-07-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100413161603/http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/nov/24/aafia-siddiqui-al-qaida |archive-date=2010-04-13 |url-status=live }}</ref>
===Binyam Mohamed===
{{Main|Binyam Mohamed}}
Mohamed immigrated to the U.K. from [[Ethiopia]] in 1994 and sought asylum. In 2001 he converted to Islam and travelled to Pakistan, followed by Afghanistan, to see if the Taliban-run Afghanistan was "a good Islamic country". U.S. authorities believed that he was a would-be bomber, who fought alongside the [[Taliban]] in [[Afghanistan]]. Pakistani immigration officials arrested him at the airport in April 2002 before he returned to the U.K., and Mohamed has said officials have used evidence gained through torture in sites in Pakistan, Morocco and Afghanistan between 2002 and 2004 before he was "secretly rendered" to the U.S. [[Guantanamo Bay detention camp]] in Cuba. In October 2008, the U.S. dropped all charges against him. Mohamed was reported as being very ill as a result of a hunger strike in the weeks before his release.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7906381.stm Profile: Binyam Mohamed] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100214213500/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7906381.stm |date=2010-02-14 }}, BBC</ref> In February 2009, Mohamed was interviewed by [[Moazzam Begg]], a fellow Bagram detainee and founder of [[Cage (organisation)|CagePrisoners]], an organization to help released detainees. Mohamad identified a photo of [[Aafia Siddiqui]] as the woman whom he and other male detainees had seen at Bagram, known as "Prisoner 650."<ref>[http://www.cageprisoners.com/articles.php?id=28464 Moazzam Begg, "Conversation with Binyam Mohamed"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100226180049/http://www.cageprisoners.com/articles.php?id=28464 |date=2010-02-26 }}, CagePrisoners website</ref>
===Others===
{{Main|Detainees held in the Bagram Theater Internment Facility}}
[[Mohammed Sulaymon Barre]], a [[Somali people|Somali]] refugee who worked for a funds transfer company, described his Bagram interrogation as "torture."<ref name=CsrtMohammedSulaymonBarre>
[{{DoD detainees ARB|Set_52_3643-3869.pdf#30}} Summarized transcripts (.pdf)], from [[Mohammed Sulaymon Barre]]'s ''[[Combatant Status Review Tribunal]]'' - pages 30-37
</ref> Barre said he was picked up and thrown around the interrogation room when he wouldn't confess to a false allegation. He was put into an isolation chamber that was maintained at a piercingly cold temperature for several weeks and deprived of sufficient rations during this period. As a result of this treatment, his hands and feet swelled, causing him such excruciating pain that he could not stand up.{{Citation needed|date=May 2024}}
Zalmay Shah, a citizen of [[Afghanistan]], alleges mistreatment during detention at Bagram air base.<ref name=TheNewRepublic20070502>{{Cite magazine
| url=http://www.tnr.com/article/black-hole-the-other-guantanamo
| title=The other Guantánamo. Black Hole
| magazine=[[The New Republic]]
| author=Eliza Griswold
| author-link=Eliza Griswold
| date=May 2, 2007
| access-date=2007-05-03
}}</ref> An article published in the May 2, 2007 issue of ''[[The New Republic]]'' contained excerpts from an interview with Zalmay Shah.<ref name=TheNewRepublic20070502/> He said he had originally cooperated closely with the Americans. He had worked with an [[United States|American]] he knew only as "Tony" in the roundup of former members of the Taliban. According to the article:<ref name=TheNewRepublic20070502/>
{{blockquote|While delivering one wanted man into U.S. custody, Shah was himself arrested, hooded, shackled, and stripped. Soldiers taped his mouth shut, refusing to let him spit out the snuff he was chewing. For three days, his jailers in Bagram denied him food. All the while, Shah pleaded his innocence and reminded the Americans of his friendship with 'Tony.'}}
Zalmay Shah was eventually released.<ref name=TheNewRepublic20070502/> He said that Americans continue to ask for his cooperation, but he now declines.{{Citation needed|date=May 2024}}
Others include [[Detainees held in the Bagram Theater Internment Facility#Guantanamo detainees who reported spending time in Bagram|Mohammed Salim]] and [[Moazzam Begg]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Begg |first=Moazzam |title=Enemy Combatant: My Imprisonment at Guantanamo, Bagram, and Kandahar |publisher=New Press |year=2007 |isbn=978-1595582065 |publication-date=September 30, 2007 |language=en}}</ref>
==Investigation and prosecution==
{{Update|date=November 2010}}
In October 2004, the [[U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command]] concluded that there was [[probable cause]] to charge 27 [[Officer (armed forces)|officers]] and [[Enlisted rank|enlisted personnel]] with criminal offenses in the [[Dilawar (torture victim)|Dilawar case]], ranging from [[dereliction of duty]] to [[maiming]] and [[involuntary manslaughter]]. Fifteen of the same soldiers were also cited for probable criminal responsibility in the Habibullah case. Seven soldiers have been charged so far. According to an article published in the October 15, 2004 by ''[[The New York Times]]'', 28 soldiers were under investigation.<ref name=NYTimes041015>{{Cite news
|first        = Thom
|last         = Shanker
|url          = http://www.ccmep.org/2004_articles/general/101504_28_soldiers.htm
|title        = 28 soldiers tied to 2 Afghan deaths
|format       = reprint ''[[The New York Times]]''
|date         = October 15, 2004
|access-date  = 2005-12-07
|archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20060306125207/http://www.ccmep.org/2004_articles/general/101504_28_soldiers.htm
|archive-date = 2006-03-06
|url-status     = live
}}</ref> Some of the soldiers were reservists in the [[377th Military Police Company]] under the command of [[Captain (OF-2)|Captain]] Christopher M. Beiring. The rest were in the [[519th Military Intelligence Battalion]] under the command of Captain [[Carolyn Wood|Carolyn A. Wood]].
On October 14, 2004, the Criminal Investigation Command forwarded its report from its investigation to the commanders of 28 soldiers.<ref name=USArmyCIC20041014>
{{cite web
|url=http://www4.army.mil/ocpa/read.php?story_id_key=6450
|title=Army completes investigations of deaths at Bagram and forwards to respective commanders for action
|date=October 14, 2004
|publisher=[[United States Army]]
|access-date=2007-09-21
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071224110128/http://www4.army.mil/ocpa/read.php?story_id_key=6450
|archive-date=2007-12-24
|url-status=dead
}}</ref>
As of January 20, 2012, 17 soldiers have been charged (15 of which listed).<ref name=Akron20051205>
{{cite news
| url = http://www.ohio.com/mld/beaconjournal/13336682.htm
| title = A look at the soldiers accused in Afghanistan abuse investigation
| newspaper = [[Akron Beacon Journal]]
| date = December 5, 2005
}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! style="width:20%;"| Soldier || style="width:10%;"| Unit || style="width:70%;"| Charges
|-
| Sgt. James P. Boland || 377th MP ||
Charged in August 2004 with assault, maltreatment of a detainee, and dereliction of duty for alleged conduct in connection with treatment of a detainee on December 10, 2002, at Bagram. He was charged with a second specification of dereliction of duty in the death on December 3, 2002, of another detainee.<ref name=AirForceReviewTitle10>
{{Cite news
|url=http://afls14.jag.af.mil/JAG_School/The%20Air%20Force%20Law%20Review/Volume%2057%20(2005)/Air%20Force%20Law%20Review%20Volume%2057%20(2005).pdf
|title=Integrating Title 18 War Crimes into Title 10
|publisher=Air Force Law Review
|author=Myndia G. Ohman
|volume=57
|year=2005
|pages=109–111
|access-date=2007-09-21
}}{{dead link|date=October 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref name=Nytimes20050312>{{Cite news
|url          = https://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/12/politics/12detain.html?ex=1268370000&en=a1828c1ff1c8119c&ei=5088
|title        = Army Details Scale of Abuse of Prisoners in an Afghan Jail
|author       = Douglas Jehl
|work         = [[The New York Times]]
|date         = 2005-03-12
|access-date   = 2007-09-21
|archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20071226220428/http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/12/politics/12detain.html?ex=1268370000&en=a1828c1ff1c8119c&ei=5088
|archive-date = 2007-12-26
|url-status     = live
}}</ref><ref name=Nytimes20040917>{{Cite news
|url          = https://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/17/world/asia/new-charges-raise-questions-on-abuse-at-afghan-prisons.html
|title        = THE REACH OF WAR: THE PRISONS; Afghan Abuse Charges Raise New Questions on Authority
|author       = Carlotta Gall
|author-link       = Carlotta Gall
|author2      = David Rohde
|author2-link      = David Rohde
|author3      = Eric Schmitt
|author3-link      = Eric Schmitt (journalist)
|work         = [[The New York Times]]
|date         = 2004-09-17
|access-date   = 2007-09-21
|archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20180727150154/https://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/17/world/asia/new-charges-raise-questions-on-abuse-at-afghan-prisons.html
|archive-date = 2018-07-27
|url-status     = live
}}</ref> All charges were dropped. He was given a [[letter of reprimand]] and eventually left the Army.<ref name=Akron20051205/>
|-
| Spc. Brian Cammack || 377th MP ||
Pled guilty on May 20, 2005, to charges of assault and two counts of making a false statement, and agreed to testify in related cases in exchange for a dismissal of the charge of maltreating detainees. Sentenced to three months in prison, reduction to the rank of private, and a bad-conduct discharge.<ref name=AirForceReviewTitle10/> Cammack claimed he hit Habibullah because Habibullah had spat on him.<ref>
{{Cite news
|url=http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2005/05/us-soldier-sentenced-to-3-months.php
|date=2005-05-23
|title=US soldier sentenced to 3 months, demoted in Afghan assault
|author=Tom Henry
|publisher=[[The Jurist]]
|access-date=2007-09-21
|url-status=dead
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071224071509/http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2005/05/us-soldier-sentenced-to-3-months.php
|archive-date=2007-12-24
}}</ref>
|-
| Pfc. Willie V. Brand || 377th MP ||
Charged with involuntary manslaughter, aggravated assault, simple assault, maiming, maltreatment, and making a false sworn statement. Convicted in August 2005 of assault, maltreatment, making a false sworn statement, and maiming, charges involving Dilawar. Acquitted on charges involving Habibullah. Reduced to the rank of private.<ref name=AirForceReviewTitle10/><ref>
{{cite news
|title        = Reservist Convicted of Abusing Afghan Inmate
|url          = https://www.foxnews.com/story/reservist-convicted-of-abusing-afghan-inmate
|agency       = [[Associated Press]]
|date         = 2005-08-17
|access-date   = 2008-02-26
|archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20080413225309/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,166060,00.html
|archive-date = 2008-04-13
|url-status     = live
}}
</ref><ref>
{{Cite news
|url=http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2005/08/us-army-reservist-found-guilty-in.php
|date=2005-08-18
|title=US Army reservist found guilty in Afghan abuse case
|author=Tom Henry
|publisher=[[The Jurist]]
|access-date=2007-09-21
|url-status=dead
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071224071521/http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2005/08/us-army-reservist-found-guilty-in.php
|archive-date=2007-12-24
}}</ref>
|-
| Sgt. Anthony Morden || 377th MP ||
Charged with assault, maltreatment and making a false official statement. pleaded guilty. Sentenced to 75 days of confinement, reduction to the rank of private, and a bad-conduct discharge.<ref name=AirForceReviewTitle10/><ref name=TheJurist20050517>
{{Cite news
|url=http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2005/05/army-charges-three-more-soldiers-in.php
|date=2005-05-17
|title=Army charges three more soldiers in deaths of Afghan detainees
|author=Krista-Ann Staley
|publisher=[[The Jurist]]
|access-date=2007-09-21
|url-status=dead
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071224071503/http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2005/05/army-charges-three-more-soldiers-in.php
|archive-date=2007-12-24
}}</ref><ref>{{cite news
|url=http://media.www.bgnews.com/media/storage/paper883/news/2005/08/29/Nation/Prisoner.Abuse.Trial.Continues.In.Texas-1295921.shtml
|date=2005-08-29
|title=Prisoner abuse trial continues in Texas
|agency=Associated Press
|access-date=2008-02-26
|url-status=dead
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090202161110/http://media.www.bgnews.com/media/storage/paper883/news/2005/08/29/Nation/Prisoner.Abuse.Trial.Continues.In.Texas-1295921.shtml
|archive-date=2009-02-02
}}</ref>
|-
| Sgt. Christopher W. Greatorex || 377th MP ||
Acquitted of charges of abuse, maltreatment and making a false official statement.<ref>
{{Cite news
|url=http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2005/09/army-reservist-acquitted-of.php
|date=2005-09-07
|title=Army reservist acquitted of Afghanistan abuse charges
|author=Chris Buell
|publisher=[[The Jurist]]
|access-date=2007-09-21
|url-status=dead
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061017202819/http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2005/09/army-reservist-acquitted-of.php
|archive-date=2006-10-17
}}</ref>
|-
| Sgt. Darin M. Broady || 377th MP ||
Acquitted of charges of assault, maltreatment and making a false official statement.<ref>
{{Cite news
|url=http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2005/09/second-soldier-acquitted-in-afghan.php
|date=2005-12-09
|title=Second soldier acquitted in Afghan detainee death
|author=Chris Buell
|publisher=[[The Jurist]]
|access-date=2007-09-21
|url-status=dead
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071224071547/http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2005/09/second-soldier-acquitted-in-afghan.php
|archive-date=2007-12-24
}}</ref>
|-
| Capt. Christopher M. Beiring || 377th MP ||
* Charged with dereliction of duty and making a false official statement.<ref name=Akron20051205/><ref name=TheJurist20050914>
{{Cite news
|url=http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2005/09/more-army-officers-charged-in-afghan.php
|date=2005-09-14
|title=More army officers charged in Afghan prisoner abuse investigation
|author=Sara R. Parsowith
|publisher=[[The Jurist]]
|access-date=2007-09-21
|url-status=dead
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071224071537/http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2005/09/more-army-officers-charged-in-afghan.php
|archive-date=2007-12-24
}}</ref>
* All charges dropped on 6 January 2006.<ref name=TheJurist20060109>
{{Cite news
|url=http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2006/01/charges-dropped-against-us-army.php
|date=2006-01-09
|title=Charges dropped against US Army officer in Afghan prisoner abuse case
|author=Jeannie Shawl
|publisher=[[The Jurist]]
|access-date=2007-09-21
|url-status=dead
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071224071559/http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2006/01/charges-dropped-against-us-army.php
|archive-date=2007-12-24
}}</ref>
* Given a letter of reprimand.
|-
| Staff Sgt. Brian L. Doyle || 377th MP ||
* Charged on October 13, 2005<ref name=InternationalInstituteForStrategicStudies>
{{cite web
|url=http://acd.iiss.org/armedconflict/mainpages/dsp_ConflictTimeline.asp?ConflictID=181&YearID=992&DisplayYear=2005
|publisher=[[International Institute for Strategic Studies]]
|title=Afghanistan
|year=2005
|access-date=2007-09-21
|url-status=dead
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071224201053/http://acd.iiss.org/armedconflict/mainpages/dsp_ConflictTimeline.asp?ConflictID=181&YearID=992&DisplayYear=2005
|archive-date=2007-12-24
}}</ref><ref name=Bbc20051013>
{{Cite news
| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/south_asia/4337374.stm
| date=2005-10-13
| title=US soldier charged in abuse case
| publisher=BBC
| access-date=2007-09-21
}}</ref>
* Acquitted of dereliction of duty and maltreatment.<ref name=Akron20051205/>
|-
| Sgt. Duane M. Grubb || 377th MP ||
Accused of assault, maltreatment and making a false official statement. Prosecutors said Grubb repeatedly struck handicapped captive Zarif Khan with his knees. Grubb testified that he had never hit the prisoner. He was acquitted of all charges.<ref name=Nytimes20051105>{{Cite news
|url          = https://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/05/world/world-briefing-asia-afghanistan-soldier-cleared-in-abuse-case.html
|title        = Afghanistan: Soldier Cleared In Abuse Case
|work         = [[The New York Times]]
|date         = 2005-11-05
|access-date   = 2007-09-21
|archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20150529172529/http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/05/world/world-briefing-asia-afghanistan-soldier-cleared-in-abuse-case.html
|archive-date = 2015-05-29
|url-status     = live
}}</ref><ref name=TheJurist20051104>
{{Cite news
|url=http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2005_11_04_indexarch.php#113113735498297950
|date=2005-11-04
|title=Military jury clears soldier of Afghan prisoner abuse
|author=Holly Manges Jones
|publisher=[[The Jurist]]
|access-date=2007-09-21
|url-status=dead
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071224071553/http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2005_11_04_indexarch.php
|archive-date=2007-12-24
}}</ref>
|-
| Sgt. Alan J. Driver || 377th MP ||
*Charged with assault.<ref name=TheJurist20050922>
{{Cite news
|url=http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2005/09/new-charges-filed-in-afghan-prisoner.php
|date=2005-09-22
|author=Holly Manges Jones
|title=New charges filed in Afghan prisoner abuse investigation
|publisher=[[The Jurist]]
|access-date=2007-09-21
|url-status=dead
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071224071542/http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2005/09/new-charges-filed-in-afghan-prisoner.php
|archive-date=2007-12-24
}}</ref>
* Acquitted Thursday February 23, 2006.<ref name=Akron20051205/><ref name=TheJurist20060226>
{{Cite news
|url=http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2006/02/us-soldier-not-guilty-in-afghan.php
|date=2006-02-24
|title=US soldier not guilty in Afghan prisoner abuse case
|author=Asha Puttaiah
|publisher=[[The Jurist]]
|access-date=2007-09-21
|url-status=dead
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071224071605/http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2006/02/us-soldier-not-guilty-in-afghan.php
|archive-date=2007-12-24
}}</ref>
|-
| Spc. Nathan Adam Jones<ref name=Akron20051205/> || 377th MP ||
* Charged with assault, maltreatment and making a false official statement.<ref name=TheJurist20050922/>
* Given a letter of reprimand.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2006-05-26 |title=A look at Afghanistan abuse cases |url=https://www.myplainview.com/news/article/A-look-at-Afghanistan-abuse-cases-8546047.php |access-date=2024-10-17 |website=Plainview Herald}}</ref>
|-
| Spc. Glendale C. Walls || 519th MI ||
<!-- Work of employees of US Federal Agencies are in the public domain.  -->
{{Blockquote|Specialist Glendale C. Walls II was charged in early May 2005 with assault, maltreatment of a detainee, and failure to obey a lawful order. The charges stemmed from allegations of using abusive interrogation techniques at Bagram, Afghanistan. One of the detainees interrogated by Specialist Walls in December 2002 died a short time later at the detention facility. At trial in August 2005, Specialist Walls admitted to abusing the detainee and was sentenced to a reduction to E-1, two months of confinement, and a bad-conduct discharge.<ref name=AirForceReviewTitle10/>}}
*Pled guilty on August 23, 2005.<ref name=TheJurist20050823>
{{Cite news
|url=http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2005/08/military-interrogator-pleads-guilty-to.php
|date=2005-08-23
|title=Military interrogator pleads guilty to Afghan detainee assault
|author=Jamie Cortazzo
|publisher=[[The Jurist]]
|access-date=2007-09-21
|url-status=dead
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071224071516/http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2005/08/military-interrogator-pleads-guilty-to.php
|archive-date=2007-12-24
}}</ref>
*Received a sentence of two months imprisonment.<ref name=TheJurist20050825>
{{Cite news
|url=http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2005/08/us-soldier-sentenced-in-afghan-abuse.php
|date=2005-08-25
|title=US soldier sentenced in Afghan abuse case, Karzai criticizes leniency
|author=Tom Henry
|publisher=[[The Jurist]]
|access-date=2007-09-21
|url-status=dead
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071224071532/http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2005/08/us-soldier-sentenced-in-afghan-abuse.php
|archive-date=2007-12-24
}}</ref>
|-
| Sgt. [[Selena M. Salcedo]] || 519th MI ||
Charged in May 2005 with assault, dereliction of duty, and lying to investigators. Suspected of stepping on Dilawar's bare foot, grabbing his beard, kicking him, and then ordering the detainee to remain chained to the ceiling. At trial Salcedo pleaded guilty and received a sentence of a one-grade reduction in rank, $1,000 fine, and a written reprimand.<ref name=AirForceReviewTitle10/><ref name=TheJurist20050517/><ref name=TheJurist20050804>
{{Cite news
|url=http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2005/08/us-interrogator-demoted-for-assaulting.php
|date=2005-08-04
|title=US interrogator demoted for assaulting Afghan prisoner
|author=Holly Manges Jones
|publisher=[[The Jurist]]
|access-date=2007-09-21
|url-status=dead
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071224071527/http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2005/08/us-interrogator-demoted-for-assaulting.php
|archive-date=2007-12-24
}}</ref><ref>
{{cite news
|url          = https://www.foxnews.com/story/no-prison-for-soldier-guilty-of-detainee-abuse
|title        = No Prison for Soldier Guilty of Detainee Abuse
|agency       = Associated Press
|date         = 2005-08-17
|access-date  = 2008-02-26
|archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20080414011447/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,164775,00.html
|archive-date = 2008-04-14
|url-status     = live
}}
</ref>
|-
| Sgt. [[Joshua Claus]] || 519th MI ||
<!-- Work of employees of US Federal Agencies are in the public domain.  -->
{{blockquote|Specialist Joshua R. Claus has been charged with assault, maltreatment of a detainee, and making a false statement to investigators for his participation in interrogations that led to the death of an Afghan detainee at Bagram in December 2002.<ref name=AirForceReviewTitle10/>}}
* Charged May 17, 2005 with assault, maltreatment and making a false statement.<ref name=TheJurist20050517/>
* Pled guilty and received a five-month prison sentence in 2005.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna9520561|title=Army interrogator gets 5 months for abuse|website=[[NBC News]] }}</ref>
|-
| Pfc. [[Damien M. Corsetti]] || 519th MI ||
<!-- Work of employees of US Federal Agencies are in the public domain.  -->
{{blockquote|Specialist Damien M. Corsetti remains under investigation for assault, maltreatment of detainees, and indecent acts related to abusive interrogation techniques used toward detainees at Bagram, Afghanistan.  On 01 June 2006, PFC Corsetti was found not guilty of all charges. While serving at Abu Ghraib, SPC Corsetti allegedly forced an Iraqi woman to strip during questioning; he was fined and demoted.<ref name=AirForceReviewTitle10/>}}
|}
===Involved but uncharged===
Some interrogators involved in this incident were sent to [[Iraq]] and were assigned to [[Abu Ghraib prison]]. PFC [[Damien M. Corsetti|Corsetti]] was fined and demoted while assigned to Abu Ghraib for not having permission to conduct an interrogation.
==Allegations of widespread abuse==
{{See also|Prisoner abuse|Torture}}
A May 2005 editorial of ''[[The New York Times]]'' noted parallels between military behavior at Bagram and the later abuse and torture of prisoners at Abu Ghraib in Iraq:
{{blockquote|What happened at [[Abu Ghraib prison|Abu Ghraib]] was no aberration, but part of a widespread pattern. It showed the tragic impact of the initial decision by [[George W. Bush|Mr. Bush]] and his top advisers that they were not going to follow the [[Geneva Conventions]], or indeed American law, for prisoners taken in antiterrorist operations.
The investigative file on Bagram, obtained by ''The Times'', showed that the mistreatment of prisoners was routine: shackling them to the ceilings of their cells, depriving them of sleep, kicking and hitting them, sexually humiliating them and threatening them with guard dogs -- the very same behavior later repeated in Iraq.<ref name=NYTimes20050523>
{{Cite news
| url = https://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/23/opinion/23mon1.html
| title = Opinion: Patterns of Abuse
| work=[[The New York Times]]
| date = May 23, 2005
}}</ref>}}
In November 2001, Col. Morgan Banks, chief psychologist of the [[Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape|SERE]] (Survival, Evasion, Resistance, Escape) program, was sent to Afghanistan. He worked for four months at [[Bagram Air Base|Bagram]]. In early 2003, Banks issued guidance for the "behavioral science consultants" who helped to devise [[Guantanamo Bay detainment camp|Guantánamo's]] interrogation strategy. He has emphatically denied having advocated use of SERE counter-resistance techniques to break down detainees.
==United States government response==
{{Main|Periodic Report of the United States of America to the United Nations Committee Against Torture}}
The [[Federal government of the United States|United States government]] through the [[United States Department of State|Department of State]] makes periodic reports to the [[United Nations Committee Against Torture]]. In October 2005, the report focused on pretrial detention of suspects in the [[War on Terrorism]], including those held at [[Guantanamo Bay detention camp]] and in Afghanistan. This particular report is significant as the first official response of the U.S. government to allegations of widespread abuse of prisoners in Afghanistan and at Guantanamo Bay. The report denies the allegations. In 2010, [[Justice Project Pakistan]] began to demand repatriation of the prisoners tortured at Bagram. Eventually, the U.S. government allowed all known prisoners to be returned home in 2014.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fenton |first=Jenifer |title=Pakistanis describe 'hell' of Bagram base detention |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/7/20/pakistanis-describe-hell-of-bagram-base-detention |access-date=2024-07-31 |website=Al Jazeera |language=en}}</ref>
===McCain Amendment===
{{main|Detainee Treatment Act of 2005}}
The ''McCain Amendment'' was an amendment to the [[United States Senate]] Department of Defense Authorization bill, commonly referred to as the ''Amendment on (1) the Army Field Manual and (2) Cruel, Inhumane, Degrading Treatment, amendment #1977'' and also known as the ''McCain Amendment 1977''. The amendment prohibited inhumane treatment of prisoners. The Amendment was introduced by Senator [[John McCain]]. On October 5, 2005, the U.S. Senate voted 90–9 to support the amendment, which was later signed into law by President [[George W. Bush]].<ref name=Senate>{{cite web
|url          = https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=109&session=1&vote=00249
|title        = McCain Amendment roll call
|access-date  = 2018-02-16
|archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20180212124109/https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=109&session=1&vote=00249
|archive-date = 2018-02-12
|url-status     = live
}}</ref>
==Second secret prison==
In May 2010, the [[BBC]] reported about nine prisoners who "told consistent stories of being held in isolation in cold cells where a light is on all day and night. The men said they had been deprived of sleep by US military personnel there." When the BBC sought information from the [[International Committee of the Red Cross]] about this, the ICRC revealed that it had been informed in August 2009 by U.S. authorities that they maintained a second facility at Bagram, commonly known as the [[Black jail|Black Jail]],<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fisher |first=Max |date=2010-05-11 |title=What We Know About Now-Confirmed 'Black Site' Prison at Bagram |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2010/05/what-we-know-about-now-confirmed-black-site-prison-at-bagram/345633/ |access-date=2024-10-17 |website=The Atlantic |language=en}}</ref> where detainees were held in isolation due to "military necessity". This was an exception to the principle of allowing guaranteed access for all prisoners to the International Red Cross.<ref name="ICRC">[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8674179.stm Red Cross confirms 'second jail' at Bagram, Afghanistan] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111103010514/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8674179.stm |date=2011-11-03 }}; [[BBC]], 11 May 2010.</ref>
==Closure==
The facility officially became defunct in 2014.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/cia-torture-report/u-s-closes-bagram-detention-center-hands-over-last-afghan-n265851|title=U.S. Closes Bagram Detention Center, Hands Over Last Afghan Prisoners|website=[[NBC News]] }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/dec/11/afghanistan-us-bagram-torture-prison|title=US finally closes detention facility at Bagram airbase in Afghanistan|website=[[TheGuardian.com]] }}</ref>
==Film==
The 2007 documentary ''[[Taxi to the Dark Side]]'' (2007), directed by American filmmaker [[Alex Gibney]], focuses on the murder of [[Dilawar (torture victim)|Dilawar]] by US troops at Bagram.
==See also==
{{Portal|Afghanistan}}
*[[Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse]]
*[[Abuse]]
*[[Canadian Afghan detainee abuse scandal]]
*[[Command responsibility]]
*[[Criticism of the War on Terrorism]]
*[[Enhanced interrogation]]
*[[Iraq prison abuse scandals]]
*[[International public opinion on the war in Afghanistan]]
*[[Military abuse]]
*[[Opposition to the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)]]
*[[Prisoner abuse]]
*[[Protests against the invasion of Afghanistan]]
*[[Qur'an desecration controversy of 2005]]
*[[The Salt Pit]]
*[[Torture]]
*[[Torture and the United States]]
*[[Use of torture since 1948]]
*[[War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)]]
*[[July 2005 Afghan captive incident]]
==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}
==External links==
{{Commons category}}
*[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8116046.stm Allegations of abuse and neglect at a US detention facility in Afghanistan - BBC video] June 24, 2009
*''[https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2005/03/bagram-abu-ghraib From Bagram to Abu Ghraib],'' article by [[Emily Bazelon]], ''[[Mother Jones (magazine)|Mother Jones]]'', March 1, 2005
*[https://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/26/international/europe/26amnesty.html?ex=1270785600&en=37bef79604f97228&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland U.S. 'Thumbs Its Nose' at Rights, Amnesty Says] by Alan Cowell, ''[[The New York Times]]'', May 26, 2005
*[https://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/13/national/13bagram.html?ex=1297486800&en=ea136ec09dc6236d&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss Years After 2 Afghans Died, Abuse Case Falters], ''[[The New York Times]]'', February 13, 2006
*[https://www.cjr.org/issues/2006/5/Umansky.asp Failures of Imagination], ''[[Columbia Journalism Review]]'', 2005, issue 5
*[http://www.thenation.com/doc/20100215/gopal/single America's Secret Afghan Prisons] by Anand Gopal, February 2010
*Human Rights First; [https://web.archive.org/web/20101224123455/http://www.humanrightsfirst.info/pdf/HRF-Undue-Process-Afghanistan-web.pdf Undue Process: An Examination of Detention and Trials of Bagram Detainees in Afghanistan in April 2009 (2009)]
*[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8684769.stm US-held detainee has become 'mentally disturbed'] [[BBC]] 16 May 2010
{{WoTPrisoners|state=collapsed}}
{{Afghanistan War|state=collapsed}}
{{Abuse}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bagram Torture And Prisoner Abuse}}
[[Category:Bagram Theater Internment Facility detainees| ]]
[[Category:George W. Bush administration controversies]]
[[Category:Torture in Afghanistan]]
[[Category:War crimes in the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)]]
[[Category:United States war crimes in Afghanistan]]
[[Category:United States military prisoner abuse scandals]]
[[Category:Events that led to courts-martial]]