WASHINGTON, Aug 17: A former CIA contractor was found guilty on Thursday of assaulting an Afghan detainee who died in custody.
David Passaro, 40, was the first American civilian to be charged with torturing a detainee during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
A US federal jury in Raleigh, North Carolina, convicted him on three counts of simple assault and one count of assault resulting in serious bodily injury.
Passaro, who was not charged with the detainee’s death, faces 11 years in prison.
Passaro, a former US Army Special Forces medic, beat a prisoner, Abdul Wali, with a large metal flashlight and a handheld spotlight.
Mr Wali died in custody on his fourth day of captivity.
No autopsy was done, so it is unclear if the beatings caused Mr Wali’s death.
The posting to Asadabad, northeastern Afghanistan,
was Passaro’s first assignment as a paramilitary contractor for the Central Intelligence Agency.
On Wednesday, the prosecutors and defence lawyers gave their closing arguments summarizing the case.
Defence lawyer Joe Gilbert appealed to the jury’s patriotism and outrage for the Sept 11, 2001, attacks.
He painted Passaro as an American hero interrogating a terrorist in a dangerous land. He said Passaro was being railroaded by the government for trying to defend his country.
“They didn’t prove that Dave did anything other than serve his country,” Mr Gilbert said. “If he’s guilty of anything, he’s guilty of standing up and … and taking the call.”
Prosecutor Jim Candelmo argued that no one was above the law.
He said Passaro went beyond the law and US Constitution when he hit a chained and tied-up Mr Wali with a flashlight and a spotlight and kicked him in the groin, he said.
The beatings were not part of the war against terrorists, Mr Candelmo said.
“What separates us from the people who do those terrible things to us is the rule of law. No one is above the law. No one is below the law,” he said.
