Ashcroft's timing continues to be beyond reproach
In a Justice Department that happens to declassify memos just in time to support a smear campaign, one can't help but occasionally wonder…
CIA Contractor Charged in Afghan Prisoner Beating
Thu Jun 17, 2004 04:52 PM ET
By James Vicini
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A CIA contractor was arrested on Thursday for brutally beating a detainee who died at a U.S. military base in Afghanistan, the first charges against a civilian in the current scandal over U.S. overseas prisoner abuse, officials said.
David Passaro, 38, a former Army Ranger who worked as a contractor for the CIA, was charged in a four-count indictment in the first case by the Justice Department since questions arose over mistreatment of prisoners in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Passaro was accused of using his hands, feet and a large flashlight to beat an Afghan detainee during interrogations in 2003 at the base near the town of Asadabad close to the Pakistan border.
The indictment, returned by a federal grand jury in North Carolina, charged Passaro with two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon with intent to do bodily harm and two counts of assault resulting in serious bodily injury.
