'Vigilante' Trial Heats Up

The trial of three Americans accused of torturing Afghan prisoners in a private jail heated up Monday, with a defense attorney showing videos of a top minister pledging his full support to the vigilantes, then sending his security forces on a raid along with the men.

The videos, and another showing NATO peacekeepers involved in a separate raid, are part of the defense's effort to prove that the counter-terrorism operation had the backing of the Pentagon and Afghan officials.

Jonathan Idema, Brent Bennett and Edward Caraballo face up to 20 years in jail if convicted on charges of kidnapping and torture. Four alleged Afghan accomplices are also on trial.

The proceedings in a crowded Kabul courtroom were chaotic and often farcical, with poorly trained translators struggling to keep up with a running stream of shouted commentary from Idema, the state prosecutor and witnesses sitting in the gallery.

At times, the translators got caught up in the moment, offering their own opinions on statements made by the two sides, and drawing sharp objections from the defense.

Idema wore dark sunglasses throughout the proceedings in the dimly lit courtroom. He is conducting his own defense, and frequently shouted objections based on his interpretation of the Afghan constitution and criminal code.

Judge Abdul Baset Bakhtyari had planned to issue a verdict Monday, but instead adjourned the trial for a week to allow Bennett more time to get an attorney.

Michael Skibbie, a lawyer for Caraballo, showed a video in court of former education minister Yunus Qanooni congratulating Idema and offering his help in arresting terrorists. Another video shows a raid involving Idema's team and a man identified as Qanooni's chief of security.

"Any cooperation, we are ready. We have a small security group," Qanooni says on the tape in broken English. The tape was recorded sometime between Idema's most recent arrival in Afghanistan in April, and his July 5 arrest.

Qanooni is an influential figure in the Northern Alliance that helped the United States oust the hardline Taliban regime in late 2001, and is one of the main rivals running against President Hamid Karzai in upcoming presidential elections.

Caraballo, a journalist who says he believed he was chronicling a legitimate counter-terror operation, appeared in court limping on a single crutch, and showed reporters a deep bruise on the bottom of his foot.

Prosecutor Mohammed Nahim Dawari said the injury was caused by an accidental fall. Skibbie would say only that he was "not in a position to comment" on the injuries.

Idema claims his activities were sanctioned by high-level Pentagon officials, and says the Afghan government was also fully behind his efforts to track down terrorists. He says the FBI has abandoned him over embarrassment at the torture allegations and because it felt he was showing them up.

All three defendants accuse the U.S. Embassy of withholding evidence that would allow him to prove that connection. The embassy had no immediate reaction Monday.

The prosecutor, Dawari, conceded that Idema had contacts with Afghan officials, but he said they were held on the presumption that the American was a legitimate operative backed by the United States government.

The Afghan government and U.S. military insist the men were operating without their knowledge, and outside the law. Still, the American military has admitted receiving from Idema a prisoner who was subsequently released.

NATO peacekeepers, known as the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), also say they were duped into helping the men on three raids in the capital, footage of one of which was shown in court Monday. On two of the raids, traces of explosives were found.

"Does the court think that ISAF would send me 50 soldiers and 10 vehicles if they didn't know who we were?" Idema told the court. "ISAF knew exactly who we were."

In an interview from custody on Saturday, Idema told The Associated Press that he had been hot on the trail of al Qaeda leaders Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahri at the time of his arrest.

Another tape played in court Monday showed Idema interrogating a prisoner, Ghulam Saki, who was heard describing how he was paid to commit acts of terrorism. Idema claims he thwarted a plot to attack the main U.S. base at Bagram, and to assassinate Afghan leaders.

Saki, who was seated in the courtroom, told AP that his confession was false and that he'd been tortured.

"It's not true. They put hot water on my body and tortured me and that is why I made these statements," he said.

Idema, from Fayetteville, North Carolina, is a colorful character with a checkered history. He was in the Army from 1975 to 1984, and received some special forces training. In 1984, he was convicted of fraud for bilking investors in a fake company out of hundreds of thousands of dollars. He spent three years in a federal prison.

At one point, he sued Steven Spielberg over the 1997 movie "The Peacemaker." He claimed the Special Forces operative played by George Clooney was modeled on him. A judge dismissed Idema's claim and ordered him to pay $267,079 in attorney fees.