From Thomas Paine’s Corner
By William Fisher

A major human rights advocacy group is charging that of the 98 detainees who have died in U.S. custody in Iraq and Afghanistan since August 2002, 34 are suspected or confirmed homicides, another 11 suggest that death was a result of physical abuse or harsh conditions, but only 12 deaths have resulted in punishment of any kind for any U.S. official.

In close to half the deaths surveyed in a new report by Human Rights First, the cause of death remains officially undetermined or unannounced. Overall, eight people in U.S. custody were tortured to death.

The report, entitled Command’s Responsibility, says that of the 34 homicide cases so far identified by the military, investigators recommended criminal charges in fewer than two thirds, and charges were actually brought (based on decisions made by command) in less than half.

While the CIA has been implicated in several deaths, no CIA agent has faced a criminal charge, the report says, adding, Among the worst cases — detainees tortured to death “ only half have resulted in punishment and the harshest sentence for anyone involved in a torture-related death has been five months in jail.

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