Charges dropped against US soldier accused of abusing Afghan detainee News
Charges dropped against US soldier accused of abusing Afghan detainee

[JURIST] Army prosecutors Wednesday dropped charges [JURIST report] against a US soldier accused of abusing a mentally retarded detainee in Afghanistan [JURIST news archive]. Spec. Nathan A. Jones was accused of kneeing or kicking the detainee in the thigh at the Bagram detention center in 2002 and then lying about it. Officials at Fort Bliss [official website] said, however, that although Jones will not face court-martial he will likely receive a letter of reprimand for dereliction of duty. The sole government witness, Spec. Jeremy Callaway, insisted at one hearing that he never saw Jones strike any detainees, but then recanted and said the opposite during a hearing a few days later. Callaway was also the key witness against Sergeant Duane Grubb who was acquitted of abuse [JURIST report] earlier this month after about a half-hour deliberation by the jury. Jones and Grubb are two of the 14 soldiers implicated in the detainee abuse [JURIST news archive] investigations stemming from the deaths of two Afghans at Bagram in 2002. AP has more.

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