An alleged American bounty-hunter on trial for running a private jail, kidnapping and torturing prisoners in Afghanistan yesterday accused FBI agents of seizing evidence proving his links to US authorities.
Jonathon Idema told an Afghan court the US' FBI had taken from the Afghan National Directorate of Security (NDS) hundreds of videotapes, photos and documents detailing his links with the FBI, the CIA, the US Defence Department and the US-led coalition.
PHOTO: AFP
"In front of the judge is the receipt that the FBI signed. Why did the judge allow the FBI to take evidence from the NDS?" Idema said, alleging 500 pages of documents, 200 videotapes and at least 400 photos detailing had been seized.
"Now it's at the US embassy where no one is ever going to see it," he said.
Idema, wearing dark sunglasses and a khaki army shirt with a US flag on the shoulder, was in the dock with co-defendants Brent Bennet, also in khakis, Edward Caraballo, who wore a traditional long Afghan smock over trousers, and their four Afghan partners.
The seven men, were arrested July 5 from a house in West Kabul where they were allegedly running a private counter-terrorism operation, apparently hoping to score the millions of dollars on offer from the FBI and CIA for the capture of top Al-Qaeda suspects including Osama bin Laden.
Bin Laden has a US$25 million bounty on his head.
Idema claims that he and his partners, who called their operation "Task Force Saber 7", were working with the full knowledge of US Secretary of Defense Donald Rums-feld to hunt down suspected terrorists.
Both the US and Afghan governments have disavowed any ties with the three men.
But since Idema's first court appearance on July 21, US-led coalition forces have admitted they took a terror suspect arrested by Idema into custody.
The suspect was later released after US forces found he was not a wanted militant.
US-led coalition forces and peacekeepers said they were duped into helping Idema's team, who wore US-style uniforms, believing they were legitimate special forces operatives.
The case has shone a spotlight on the shadowy world of security and counter-terrorism in a country where US-led forces and international peacekeepers stay close to their bases, leaving a wide swathe for private security contractors to operate.
The trial had been adjourned after the July 21 appearance for over two weeks to allow three Americans and four Afghan associates a better defense and find adequate translators.
The seven men face jail sentences of between 16 and 20 years if found guilty.
US news reports said Idema was a bounty hunter who had spent time in jail for fraud, formerly fought with Northern Alliance forces in Afghanistan and may have been hunting senior Al-Qaeda leaders.
US forces here are already under fire from rights groups for their mistreatment of detainees in Afghanistan, one of whom died while in custody.
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