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Rumsfeld knew all about me, says American 'jailer' held in Kabul
The saga of "Jack" Idema, the American arrested for running a private interrogation centre in Afghanistan, took a new twist yesterday when he claimed that he was acting with the knowledge and agreement of Donald Rumsfeld's office.
Mr Idema, who has been accused of having a makeshift jail in which detainees were hung by their feet, claimed that US authorities "condoned and supported" his freelance activities.
"We were working for the US counter-terrorist group and working with the Pentagon and some other federal agencies," said Mr Idema, whose full name is Jonathon Keith Idema, before the opening of a court hearing in Kabul, according to Reuters.
He told reporters: "We were in contact directly by fax and email and phone with Donald Rumsfeld's office.
"The American authorities absolutely condoned what we did. We have extensive evidence to that ... We're prepared to show emails and correspondence and tape-recorded conversations."
From New York, Mr Idema's lawyer, John Tiffany, told the Guardian: "We have documentary evidence regarding the US government's knowledge of my client's intended activities in Afghanistan."
Mr Tiffany said his client was not denying he had taken people into custody but would claim he had done so with the authorities' full knowledge.
Mr Tiffany suggested Mr Idema would never have been arrested had it not been for the publicity over treatment of prisoners in Abu Ghraib jail in Iraq. But a US defence department spokesman in Washington denied Mr Idema's claims yesterday. "He is nothing to do with us," he said. "Idema does not represent the US government and we do not employ him." US military authorities in Afghanistan have also denied Mr Idema was acting with their knowledge.
Mr Idema, who has made no secret of the fact that he is hunting for Osama bin Laden, who has a price of $25m on his head, was arrested with two other men 10 days ago for allegedly detaining eight Afghans in Kabul.
One detainee, Ghulam Sakhi, yesterday said in court he had been tied upside down during some of the 18 days he was held. Another, Sher Jan, said: "They pulled me out of my house, hooded me and broke a rib with a gun ... They poured hot water on me, too."
Mr Idema denies mistreating prisoners. He told reporters he had foiled a plot to attack US forces with truck bombs and to assassinate Afghan officials.
Arrested with Mr Idema were Ed Caraballo, who was making a film about Mr Idema's activities, and Brent Bennett, who works for Mr Idema's company, Counter Group.
The three, together with four Afghans, face charges of hostage-taking and assault. The trial was yesterday adjourned for 15 days.
Mr Caraballo's brother, Richard, said yesterday that the cameraman had been working on a documentary about Mr Idema since 2002 and had gone to Afghanistan to get some final footage.
He added: "Due to the situation in Afghanistan, it was agreed that he would need to remain in the secure presence of Idema's team."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/afghanistan/story/0,1284,1266418,00.html
"We were working for the US counter-terrorist group and working with the Pentagon and some other federal agencies," said Mr Idema, whose full name is Jonathon Keith Idema, before the opening of a court hearing in Kabul, according to Reuters.
He told reporters: "We were in contact directly by fax and email and phone with Donald Rumsfeld's office.
"The American authorities absolutely condoned what we did. We have extensive evidence to that ... We're prepared to show emails and correspondence and tape-recorded conversations."
From New York, Mr Idema's lawyer, John Tiffany, told the Guardian: "We have documentary evidence regarding the US government's knowledge of my client's intended activities in Afghanistan."
Mr Tiffany said his client was not denying he had taken people into custody but would claim he had done so with the authorities' full knowledge.
Mr Tiffany suggested Mr Idema would never have been arrested had it not been for the publicity over treatment of prisoners in Abu Ghraib jail in Iraq. But a US defence department spokesman in Washington denied Mr Idema's claims yesterday. "He is nothing to do with us," he said. "Idema does not represent the US government and we do not employ him." US military authorities in Afghanistan have also denied Mr Idema was acting with their knowledge.
Mr Idema, who has made no secret of the fact that he is hunting for Osama bin Laden, who has a price of $25m on his head, was arrested with two other men 10 days ago for allegedly detaining eight Afghans in Kabul.
One detainee, Ghulam Sakhi, yesterday said in court he had been tied upside down during some of the 18 days he was held. Another, Sher Jan, said: "They pulled me out of my house, hooded me and broke a rib with a gun ... They poured hot water on me, too."
Mr Idema denies mistreating prisoners. He told reporters he had foiled a plot to attack US forces with truck bombs and to assassinate Afghan officials.
Arrested with Mr Idema were Ed Caraballo, who was making a film about Mr Idema's activities, and Brent Bennett, who works for Mr Idema's company, Counter Group.
The three, together with four Afghans, face charges of hostage-taking and assault. The trial was yesterday adjourned for 15 days.
Mr Caraballo's brother, Richard, said yesterday that the cameraman had been working on a documentary about Mr Idema since 2002 and had gone to Afghanistan to get some final footage.
He added: "Due to the situation in Afghanistan, it was agreed that he would need to remain in the secure presence of Idema's team."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/afghanistan/story/0,1284,1266418,00.html
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KABUL, July 22 (Reuters) - The U.S. military in Afghanistan admitted on Thursday they had held but later released an alleged Taliban official handed over to them by an American vigilante group operating in the country.
The vigilantes, led by a former American soldier identified as Jonathan Idema, are now under arrest and charged by Afghan authorities with illegally detaining Afghan citizens and torturing them at their private jail in Kabul.
Idema claims to have been working for the U.S. government, but the U.S. military and NATO peacekeepers have previously said he had no connection with them.
A U.S. military statement on Thursday did not clarify this point but said U.S. forces had received a detainee from Idema's group at Bagram Air Base north of Kabul in May. It said he was freed this month after it was established he was not a wanted former Taliban official.
"After additional and careful review, records indicate that Coalition forces received one detainee from Idema on May 3, 2004 at Bagram," it said.
"We accepted this detainee because Idema claimed the individual was associated with the Taliban. We determined this individual was not who Idema claimed and we released him the first week of July."
Identity of the detainee was not mentioned.
Afghan security forces seized Idema, two other Americans and four Afghans on July 5 after freeing eight prisoners from a private house they had rented in Kabul.
The arrests happened after NATO-led peacekeepers contacted the U.S. military about their own suspicion of Idema's group, which had duped the NATO-led force into helping in three raids in late June.
The seven defendants went on trial in Kabul on Wednesday, charged with hostage-taking, torture, illegally arresting and intorrogating Afghans under the pretext that they belonged to the Taliban and their al Qaeda Islamic militant allies.
Idema denied the charges at the court and insisted that he worked for the U.S. government and had evidence to prove it.
The trial has been adjourned and the three Americans face up to 15 years in prison if found guilty.
The arrests have been a headache for foreign forces in Afghanistan, where the U.S. military has been under scrutiny for its treatment of suspected militant prisoners.
U.S. troops have been accused by U.S.-based Human Rights Watch of "systematic" abuse of detainees.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/SP292558.htm
The vigilantes, led by a former American soldier identified as Jonathan Idema, are now under arrest and charged by Afghan authorities with illegally detaining Afghan citizens and torturing them at their private jail in Kabul.
Idema claims to have been working for the U.S. government, but the U.S. military and NATO peacekeepers have previously said he had no connection with them.
A U.S. military statement on Thursday did not clarify this point but said U.S. forces had received a detainee from Idema's group at Bagram Air Base north of Kabul in May. It said he was freed this month after it was established he was not a wanted former Taliban official.
"After additional and careful review, records indicate that Coalition forces received one detainee from Idema on May 3, 2004 at Bagram," it said.
"We accepted this detainee because Idema claimed the individual was associated with the Taliban. We determined this individual was not who Idema claimed and we released him the first week of July."
Identity of the detainee was not mentioned.
Afghan security forces seized Idema, two other Americans and four Afghans on July 5 after freeing eight prisoners from a private house they had rented in Kabul.
The arrests happened after NATO-led peacekeepers contacted the U.S. military about their own suspicion of Idema's group, which had duped the NATO-led force into helping in three raids in late June.
The seven defendants went on trial in Kabul on Wednesday, charged with hostage-taking, torture, illegally arresting and intorrogating Afghans under the pretext that they belonged to the Taliban and their al Qaeda Islamic militant allies.
Idema denied the charges at the court and insisted that he worked for the U.S. government and had evidence to prove it.
The trial has been adjourned and the three Americans face up to 15 years in prison if found guilty.
The arrests have been a headache for foreign forces in Afghanistan, where the U.S. military has been under scrutiny for its treatment of suspected militant prisoners.
U.S. troops have been accused by U.S.-based Human Rights Watch of "systematic" abuse of detainees.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/SP292558.htm
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