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Three US Citizens to Face Afghan Court Tomorrow for Running Private Jail
The trial of three US citizens charged by Afghan authorities with running an unlicensed jail in Afghanistan as part of a private "war on terror" will begin tomorrow, a judge said. Lower court judge Abdul Baset Bakhtiari said yesterday the three US citizens, who have been branded by both US and Afghan authorities as vigilantes, appeared before him Sunday for a preliminary hearing. "They were told by the court what they were charged for so that they can make their defense ready at the main trial," he said. They were given time to present a written defense and could have a lawyer to represent them, he said.The three US citizens were arrested with four Afghans this month and charged with running a jail and unlawfully detaining nine Afghan citizens in a private "war on terror." US news reports said one of them, former US Green Beret Jonathan K. Idema, was a bounty hunter who had formerly fought with Northern Alliance forces in Afghanistan and may have been hunting senior Al-Qaeda leaders in hopes of claiming the substantial rewards on offer. Posted by: Fred 2004-07-20 |
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