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Documentary of US 'war crimes' shocks Europe
By Clive Freeman
Berlin - American soldiers have been involved in the torture and murder of captured
Taliban prisoners, and may have aided in the "disappearance" of up to 3 000 men in
the region of Mazar-i-Sharif, according to Jamie Doran, an Irish documentary film-
maker.
Doran's latest film, Massacre At Mazar, was shown on Wednesday in in the
Reichstag, the German parliament building in Berlin, and there were immediate
calls for an international commission to be set up to investigate charges made in the
documentary.
Andrew McEntee, a leading international human rights lawyer, who has viewed the
film footage and read full transcripts, believes there is prima facie evidence of
serious war crimes having been committed by American soldiers in Afghanistan.
'The Americans
did whatever they wanted'
McEntee, who was in Berlin for Wednesday's special screening, said war crimes
had been committed not just under international law but, also, "under the laws of the
United States itself".
Much of the footage shown in Doran's 20-minute documentary was taken secretly,
and although witnesses were said to be living in fear of reprisal from within
Afghanistan itself they had all agreed to appear at any future international war
crimes tribunal to give evidence, it was claimed.
One witness in the film claimed he had seen an American soldier break an Afghan
prisoner's neck and pour acid on others. "The Americans did whatever they wanted.
We had no power to stop them," he alleged.
Sometimes prisoners who were beaten up and taken outside had "disappeared", he
said.
In other sequences witnesses, among them two men, claimed they had been forced
to drive into the desert with hundreds of Taliban prisoners.
The living were then summarily shot while 30 to 40 American soldiers purportedly
stood by, it was alleged. The prisoners had been taken there on the orders of the
local American commander, according to the documentary.
In the film, an Afghan witness admitted to killing prisoners himself, and another
officer, allegedly a senior officer in the army of deputy defence minister Dostum's
forces, was said to have gone into hiding following threats to his life.
The far-left Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS) arranged for the special showing
of Massacre At Mazar in the Reichstag. Party chairman Roland Claus was cautious
regarding its content but did spoke of its attempt at "authenticity."
Andre Brie, a PDS member of the European Parliament, concerned by reports of ill
treatment of Taliban prisoners, said he would be in favour of an international
commission looking into "disturbing" questions raised by the film.
At a press conference Brie said he had known of Doran's dangerous film activity in
Afghanistan, and had helped to support him financially.
The PDS party faction had wanted to obtain authentic footage of the war in
Afghanistan, he said.
The film was due to be screened at the European Parliament in Strasbourg later on
Wednesday evening. - Sapa-DPA
Published on the Web by IOL on 2002-06-12 17:28:44
© Independent Online 2002. All rights reserved. IOL publishes this article in good
faith but is not liable for any loss or damage caused by reliance on the information it
contains.
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