Ex-contractor guilty of abusing detainee

RALEIGH, N.C. – The first American civilian charged with mistreating a detainee during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan was convicted Thursday of assaulting an Afghan man who later died.

Prosecutors said the verdict against former CIA contract worker David Passaro sets a precedent for bringing others accused of such wrongdoing overseas back to the U.S. to stand trial. Human-rights advocates, however, noted that no other U.S. civilian has been charged publicly with abusing detainees in the two years since Passaro’s arrest.

After about eight hours of deliberations, a federal jury found Passaro guilty of three counts of simple assault and one count of assault resulting in serious bodily injury, lesser charges than prosecutors had sought. He faces up to 11 1/2 years in prison; no sentencing date was immediately set.

Passaro, 40, was impassive as the jury verdict was read.

The former Special Forces medic was working for the CIA as a contract worker in June 2003 when, prosecutors said, he beat Abdul Wali during two days of questioning about rocket attacks on a remote base where Passaro was stationed with U.S. and Afghan troops. Wali died, but Passaro was not charged in his death.

Witnesses said Passaro enthusiastically volunteered to interrogate Wali and became enraged when he wasn’t able to answer questions. Several said they saw Passaro beat Wali with a metal flashlight and his fists, and repeatedly kicked him in the groin, as he questioned the man in a dark and hot mud-walled cell at the base in mountainous northeastern Afghanistan.

The defense disputed prosecutors’ contention that Wali was severely beaten and said Passaro was being scapegoated for the man’s death.

Passaro was tried under a provision of the USA Patriot Act that allows charges against U.S. citizens for crimes committed on land or facilities designated for use by the U.S. government.