Jonathan "Jack" Idema, the last of three imprisoned US citizens convicted of illegal detention and torture in Afghanistan in 2004, was released June 2, Afghan authorities have confirmed. Idema, a former member of the US Army Special Forces, was arrested by Afghan forces as a vigilante along with US journalist Edward Caraballo and ex-serviceman Brent Bennett in July 2004 after a raid on their house in Kabul revealed eight captive Afghans. Idema said that the Pentagon sanctioned their operations, a claim the US State Department denied. In March, US District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan ordered the State Department and FBI to respond to allegations by Idema that they ordered his torture while in Afghan custody. US government lawyers have asked that the case be dismissed because the Afghan government has granted Idema amnesty. (Jurist, June 13)

See also WW4R #100

See our last posts on Afghanistan and the torture/detainment scandal.