The case of ”Jack” Idema, the American accused of running a private interrogation centre in Kabul, could now lead to full-scale embarrassment for the US authorities.
It emerged on Thursday that Idema had handed over to the United States military an Afghan who was subsequently held for a month by them in Bagram air base.
Idema, two other Americans and four Afghans are facing charges of hostage-taking and torture in Kabul.
They face up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
On Thursday a US military spokesperson, Major Jon Siepmann, admitted that they had received a detainee captured by Idema’s organisation, Counter Group, at Bagram on May 3.
Major Siepmann said that Idema had appeared ”questionable” when he presented the detainee, and that suspicion grew when, one month later, the man turned out not to be the top suspect that Idema had described, according to Associated Press.
”That doesn’t mean at the time that we knew Mr Idema’s full track record or other things he was doing out there,” Major Siepmann said.
Originally, the US authorities distanced themselves from Jonathon Keith ”Jack” Idema, saying that he had no connection with them.
Idema, a former member of US special forces who has a fraud conviction in the US, claims that the US and Afghan authorities were well aware of his activities.
His lawyer, John Tiffany, said that there was video evidence of American troops cooperating with Idema, who claims to be running a freelance counter-terror unit hunting for Osama bin Laden. – Guardian Unlimited Â