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February 24, 2011

Soldier Faces Court-Martial for Killing of Afghan Civilian 
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The U.S. military has announced the court martial of a soldier accused
of murdering an Afghan civilian last year. Sergeant Derrick Miller is
accused of fatally shooting Atta Mohammed in the head after taking
Mohammed from his home and beating him. Atta Mohammed's son, Yar
Mohammad, described the attack on his father.

Yar Mohammad: "An American soldier took him a away from home into the
bathroom. God knows what happened inside the bathroom, but there were
clear signs of punching on his face and his clothes were torn up. He was
shot with a pistol in the head. We demand his trial. We have been
assured that he is in jail and there will be a court case. We want him
punished for the crime he committed, he must be punished."

Nadir Nadiry of the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission praised
the court martial, but said many killings of Afghan civilians are going
unpunished.

Nadir Nadiry: "We are very happy that a criminal investigation has been
launched after the incident and the case has been taken into account and
a process of accountability has started. We are closely following the
proceeding of the trial and we hope that no wrong doings remain
unaccounted. We are still very concerned, seriously concerned, about the
high number of civilians being killed in this conflict in the year that
has passed. We have had from the total number of more than 2,300
civilians losing their lives."



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