 An Afghan former intelligence chief went on trial on Monday accused of war crimes and torture during communist rule in the 1980s, the first such trial to be held in Afghanistan after decades of warfare. Assadullah Sarwari has been detained since 1992, when Mujahideen (holy warrior) factions overthrew a Soviet-backed communist regime.
| He's been in jug for 13 years? |
Prosecutors said Sarwari was arrested for conspiring against Afghanistan's Islamic government and was guilty of illegal mass arrests and executions. Now 64 and sporting a short grey and black beard, he served as head of intelligence when thousands of people were killed for opposing the government. Appearing before the national security court, Sarwari said his detention was illegal and he had no connection with war crimes. "I ... strongly reject the charges ... (and) consider them a political conspiracy," he told the court. Sarwari was given 20 days to prepare an affidavit. Officials said he would be sentenced to death if found guilty.
| I think I'd rather be dead than spend 13 years in jug in Afghanistan, but I could be wrong... |
| ... don't try to make me feel sorry for this torturing commie mook, because it won't work ... |
After heading the intelligence network, he served as deputy prime minister and Afghanistan's ambassador to Yemen. His trial was the first for alleged war crimes in Afghanistan where successive regimes have been accused of abuses in 25 years of war that began with a Soviet invasion in 1979. |