Thursday, April 07, 2005

Prosecutors agree to unseal documents in CIA abuse case

Federal prosecutors have agreed to unseal documents relating to the prosecution of a CIA operative from North Carolina accused of beating an Afghan prisoner who died two years ago.
Last month, The News & Observer, The Washington Post and The Associated Press asked U.S. District Court Judge Terrence Boyle to make public unclassified information in the sealed records of the David Passaro case.
The news organizations said the U.S. government was engaged in a secret prosecution of Passaro, a former Special Forces soldier recruited by the CIA.
He is the first civilian prosecuted on charges of mistreating a military detainee in the U.S. war on terrorism, and the first American citizen charged under the Patriot Act.
In court filings this week, prosecutors acknowledged that the public has a right to see unclassified portions of the records, and said they were working to unseal them.

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