US to prosecute CIA contractor over prisoner killing in Afghanistan

AFGHANISTAN'S government yesterday welcomed a decision by the United States to prosecute a CIA contractor over the brutal killing of a prisoner in a northeastern jail.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai's chief-of-staff, Mohammed Omar Daudzai, also said the government is confident that Washington will pursue other offenders.

US authorities yesterday charged David Passaro with two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon and two counts of assault resulting in serious bodily injury over the death of detainee Abdul Wali. Passaro is accused of having beaten Wali in June 2003 at a camp in Asadabad, some 190 kilometres northeast of Kabul. He faces a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison and a $250,000-dollar fine.