On trial in Afghanistan 'Jack' Idema.

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Registered: 03-18-2000
On trial in Afghanistan 'Jack' Idema.
1
Mon, 08-16-2004 - 11:37am
What's the truth behind this story, Idema or US Authorities?

 

Profile: Jonathan 'Jack' Idema.

 






Jonathan Keith Idema
Idema claims he had the backing of the Pentagon



Jonathan Keith "Jack" Idema, who went on trial in Afghanistan on Monday, is known in the country as a mysterious figure, often seen clad in combat gear and dark glasses, and armed to the eyeballs.

If Mr Idema is to be believed, he is a defender of American values, a patriotic ex-special forces soldier working on the front-line of the US war on terror, with the full backing of the Pentagon.

There are plenty of people who do not believe him. Others say they did - and now regret it.

He has cropped up in the news before.

He was convicted in 1994 in the US for fraud and other offences connected to a military equipment firm he owned.

Clooney character

After hearing the allegations he made at the trial, the district judge memorably concluded that "insanity might have been his best defence".


He also attempted to sue film director Steven Spielberg and his DreamWorks company over the 1997 movie "The Peacemaker", claiming the commando played by George Clooney was based on him.

His case was dismissed and he was ordered to pay the legal fees.


He also features in a book, The Hunt for Bin Laden, by Robin Moore, portrayed as an unconventional but effective operative assisting in the fight against al-Qaeda.


His former girlfriend is quoted on a US website as saying: "He likes his name in lights."

He duly came to the world's attention when Afghan police burst into a building in Kabul, and allegedly found three men hanging from the ceiling by their feet in what was described as a private interrogation centre.

He has been charged, along with several other men, with hostage-taking and torture - charges he denies.

Pentagon denial

Mr Idema says he has been working for the Pentagon.

"We were in contact directly by fax and e-mail and phone with Donald Rumsfeld's office," Mr Idema said at a pre-trial hearing.

The Pentagon has denied having anything to do with him.

But US spokesmen later had to admit they had accepted an Afghan man he handed over to them.

Mr Idema claims the man was a senior Taleban figure - but the US says he was not who Mr Idema claimed, and was later released.






Kabul house
Idema is accused of running a prison at this Kabul house
Nato, too, says it was duped by Mr Idema and his American associates, into thinking they were serving US soldiers. The alliance agreed to send search teams into buildings for him.


"Their credibility was such that with their uniforms, their approach, our people believed they were what they said they were," said a spokesman for Nato in Afghanistan "It was a mistake."

Mr Idema is one of many former special forces soldiers working privately in Afghanistan, some to provide security, others bounty hunters attracted by the millions of dollars in rewards offered for Osama Bin Laden and other top al-Qaeda men.


Mr Idema has claimed the FBI has been out to get him since he refused to name the sources who tipped him off about a nuclear smuggling operation in Lithuania.

He is expected to raise various allegations about his dealings with US authorities in court in Kabul.

His immediate future may depend on whether it believes what he says.


Americans in Afghan Trial Ask FBI for Documents.


 Three Americans standing trial in Afghanistan Monday for imprisoning and torturing Afghans were given a week to provide evidence, which they say was withheld by U.S. authorities, proving that they had official clearance.


The leader of the group, ex-soldier Jonathan "Jack" Idema, said his group hunted "terrorists," but was disowned by the U.S. government after their arrest because their case followed in the wake of the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal in Iraq.


More........


http://wireservice.wired.com/wired/story.asp?section=Breaking&storyId=908212&tw=wn_wire_story

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Photobucket&nbs

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Registered: 03-18-2000
Sat, 09-25-2004 - 9:30am

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1101040927-699416,00.html


CONVICTED. Bounty hunter and former Green Beret JONATHAN IDEMA, his right-hand man BRENT BENNETT and freelance cameraman EDWARD CARABALLO; of entering Afghanistan illegally, making illegal arrests, establishing a private jail and torturing their captives; in Kabul. Idema claimed that he had high-level support from the Pentagon and Afghan officials for his group's efforts to hunt down terrorists. But the U.S. military says the men were operating without its knowledge, and the judge refused to admit evidence in support of the men's claim. Idema and Bennett were sentenced to 10 years in prison, Caraballo to eight years.

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Photobucket&nbs