American says US backed his jail

KABUL, Afghanistan -- Jonathan Keith Idema, an American accused of running a freelance antiterror operation and private prison in Afghanistan, testified in court yesterday that he could prove US and Afghan authorities were fully aware of his actions, and he accused the FBI of confiscating evidence that would support his contention.

Often interrupting the judge and laughing in apparent disgust at the proceedings, Idema said FBI agents in Kabul had seized hundreds of documents, photographs, and videotapes from his base that showed "constant contacts" between him and US military and intelligence officials in the spring and summer.

"They knew every single thing we did, every single day," he said.

Idema said FBI agents had questioned several Afghans after he took them prisoner and confirmed that they knew of a plot to kill two Afghan Cabinet ministers. He also read from a printed e-mail about his operations, which he said had been sent to him from the office of the multinational peacekeeping forces in Afghanistan.

US military and intelligence officials in the region have repeatedly denied having any affiliation with Idema, although they acknowledge having received one prisoner from him. International peacekeeping officials in Kabul say they cooperated with him briefly until learning he was an impostor.

Idema, 48, of Fayetteville, N.C., and two American associates, along with four of their Afghan employees, have been charged with entering the country illegally, operating an illegal jail, detaining and imprisoning eight Afghan citizens, kidnapping, and torture. All have been in custody since their arrest July 4. If convicted, they could face 20 years in Afghan prisons.

In listing the charges yesterday, the prosecutor said police had found "torture equipment, bloody clothing, handcuffs, blindfolds, and stored water" when they raided a building used by Idema to hold prisoners. He said Idema's detainees had all proved to be "innocent Afghan citizens."

Although Idema did not rebut allegations that he held a group of Afghans prisoner, he adamantly denied having tortured them, saying: "I assure this court, no one was burned with cigarettes, no one was hung upside down, no one was beaten, no one was in body bags . . . none of this happened."