Afghan who died in U.S. custody complained of snake bite, American command

[Judi Lynn]

Afghan who died in U.S. custody complained of snake bite, American commander says



Associated Press
January 3, 2005

KABUL, Afghanistan - An Afghan who died in U.S. military custody last year had complained that he was bitten by a snake hours before an army medic found his lifeless body, an American commander said Monday, rejecting suggestions that the man had been mistreated.

Sher Mohammed Khan died in September at Camp Salerno, an American base in the eastern province of Khost. U.S. forces detained him during a raid on his home in which his brother was fatally shot.
(snip)

Human Rights Watch last month cited the case in an open letter to U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld accusing the Pentagon of dragging its feet on clearing up the circumstances in which at least eight detainees have died in Afghanistan.

Khan's family told Afghan rights investigators his body had bruises when they retrieved it from the base, Human Rights Watch said.
(snip/...)

http://www.freenewmexican.com/news/8762.html