Mullah Habibullah was an

Afghan Afghan may refer to: *Something of or related to Afghanistan, a country in Southern-Central Asia *Afghans, people or citizens of Afghanistan, typically of any ethnicity ** Afghan (ethnonym), the historic term applied strictly to people of the Pas ...

who died while in US custody on December 4, 2002. His death was one of those classed as a

homicide Homicide occurs when a person kills another person. A homicide requires only a volitional act or omission that causes the death of another, and thus a homicide may result from accidental, reckless, or negligent acts even if there is no inten ...

, though the initial military statement described his death as due to natural causes. Habibullah's brother was a

Taliban The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state (polity), state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalism, Islamic fundamentalist, m ...

leader. Carlotta Gall, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' reporter in Afghanistan, was the first to discover the story in 2003. Captain

Carolyn Wood Carolyn Wood, United States Army captain, is a military intelligence officer who served in both Afghanistan and Iraq. She was implicated by the Fay Report to have "failed" in several aspects of her command regarding her oversight of interrogator ...

, commander of Alpha Company of the

519th Military Intelligence Battalion The 519th Military Intelligence Battalion is a unit of the United States Army.mirror The battalion was first created in 1948. The battalion served in the Vietnam War; the Invasion of Grenada; the Invasion of Panama; Desert Storm; the Invasion o ...

, and Captain

Christopher Beiring Christopher is the English version of a Europe-wide name derived from the Greek name Χριστόφορος (''Christophoros'' or '' Christoforos''). The constituent parts are Χριστός (''Christós''), "Christ" or "Anointed", and φέρει� ...

, commander of the 377th Military Police Company, directed their troops at the

Bagram Collection Point The Parwan Detention Facility (also called Detention Facility in Parwan or Bagram prison) is Afghanistan's main military prison. Situated next to the Bagram Air Base in the Parwan Province of Afghanistan, the prison was built by the U.S. during t ...

to confine their captives with their arms handcuffed above their heads in order to deprive them of sleep. Lt. Gen. Daniel K. McNeill was later quoted in the press denying that Bagram prisoners had been chained to the ceiling or held in chains attached to the ceiling. Their troops routinely kneed their captives in the side of their thighs. They called these "compliance blows". During a Criminal Investigation Division inquiry their troops claimed they had been told—incorrectly—that this kind of blow was a legal, authorized use of force.

Causes of death

Habibullah's autopsy was performed two days after his death, and classed his death as a

. Dr. Ingwerson said the cause of death was "Pulmonary embolism due to

blunt force injury Blunt trauma, also known as blunt force trauma or non-penetrating trauma, is physical traumas, and particularly in the elderly who fall. It is contrasted with penetrating trauma which occurs when an object pierces the skin and enters a tissue ...

to the legs." But this did not prevent the GIs staffing the prison from continuing to use these "compliance blows", and a second Afghan, Dilawar, died four days later, on December 10, 2002, under practically identical circumstances. Dr. Elizabeth Rouse, the coroner for Dilawar, the other murder victim, said she had seen similar damage to a man whose legs had been run over by a bus.

Prosecutions

By 2005, at least 15 American soldiers had been recommended for prosecution by Army investigators for abuse of detainees at Bagram. At least five of the soldiers were charged with crimes involving Habibullah's treatment. Captain Christopher Beiring was charged with dereliction of duty and making false statements; the charges were dropped, but he was reprimanded. Sgt. Christopher Greatorex was tried on charges of abuse, maltreatment, and making false statements; he was acquitted on September 7, 2005. Sgt. Darin Broady was tried on charges of abuse and acquitted on September 9, 2005. Specialist Brian Cammack pleaded guilty to charges of assault and making false statements; he was sentenced to three months in jail, a fine, reduced in rank to private, and given a bad conduct discharge. Pfc. Willie Brand was convicted of other charges, but acquitted of charges relating to abuse of Habibullah.

References

External links

Failures of Imagination
''

Columbia Journalism Review The ''Columbia Journalism Review'' (''CJR'') is a biannual magazine for professional journalists that has been published by the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism since 1961. Its contents include news and media industry trends, ana ...

'', 2005, issue 5 * Human Rights First
Command’s Responsibility: Detainee Deaths in U.S. Custody in Iraq and Afghanistan
{{DEFAULTSORT:Habibullah Year of birth missing 2002 deaths Afghan murder victims Bagram Theater Internment Facility detainees Extrajudicial prisoners killed while in United States custody Afghan people who died in prison custody Prisoners who died in United States military detention Afghan torture victims