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Afghan jail term for US convicts cut<br><br>
Thursday 31 March 2005 8:20 AM GMT <br><br>
<br><br>
<b>Three Americans jailed for torturing Afghans have won shorter
sentences from an appeal court.<br><br>
</b></font><font size=2>Jonathan Idema, Brent Bennett and Edward
Caraballo were jailed last September after a chaotic trial that
embarrassed US and Nato forces and sowed confusion about clandestine US
operations in Afghanistan. <br><br>
The three Americans were arrested in July when Afghan security forces
raided a house in downtown Kabul and discovered eight Afghan men who said
they had been abused. They were convicted two months later in a trial
marred by faulty translation and seemingly improvised procedures.
<br><br>
Four Afghans were also convicted as accomplices. At a closed-door session
on Tuesday, the appeals court upheld their convictions for torture and
operating a private jail, one of four judges hearing the case Abdul Latif
said on Thursday. But it quashed the charge that they entered the country
illegally. <br><br>
The court cut the 10-year terms handed to Idema, the alleged ringleader,
and to right-hand man Bennett to five and three years, respectively,
Latif said. Caraballo, a New York journalist, will serve two years
instead of eight. <br><br>
Latif said the trio had appealed to the Supreme Court, their last
recourse. <br><br>
<b>Confirmation<br><br>
</b>Michael Macey, a spokesman for the US embassy confirmed the ruling,
but provided no further details. <br><br>
Idema, a 48-year-old former soldier from Fayetteville, North Carolina,
insists he and his accomplices were tracking down "terror
suspects" including al-Qaida leader Usama bin Ladin in close
cooperation with US and Afghan security forces. <br><br>
The US military acknowledges accepting a prisoner from Idema, but insists
it realised shortly afterwards that Idema was an impostor. <br><br>
Nato peacekeepers also helped the trio on three raids, later saying they
were duped. <br><br>
The three are being held at Kabul's Pul-e Charkhi prison, a facility
notorious in Afghanistan for ghastly conditions and summary executions.
<br><br>
Officials have made the Americans' stay more comfortable, lodging them in
a heated, carpeted room with satellite television and their own
bathroom.<br><br>
<br><br>
</font><font size=3>You can find this article at:<br>
<a href="http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/07FE5410-3569-4721-978D-C195C6AA370F.htm" eudora="autourl">
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/07FE5410-3569-4721-978D-C195C6AA370F.htm</a>
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