The Czech military police have accused four soldiers of involvement in the death of an Afghan soldier, who shot and killed their teammate, during his interrogation in 2018, Respekt weekly newspaper reported on Monday
PRAGUE (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 21st June, 2021) The Czech military police have accused four soldiers of involvement in the death of an Afghan soldier, who shot and killed their teammate, during his interrogation in 2018, Respekt weekly newspaper reported on Monday.
According to the newspaper, four members of the Czech special forces were implicated in the death of Vahidullah Khan, an Afghan soldier who shot Czech dog handler Tomas Prochazka at the Shindand military base in Herat province in October 2018.
Shortly after the shooting, Khan was taken in for interrogation by the Western forces. According to Afghan witnesses, he was not injured at the time, Respekt said.
Some 20 minutes after being interrogated by the Czechs, Khan was handed over to American soldiers with "visible traces of violence" on his body, the report said. The military police accused two of them of using force against Khan, and the other two of not providing him with medical assistance afterwards, Respekt said. The involved Czechs denied beating the Afghan detainee.
Additionally, eight American soldiers have also been accused of complicity in the death of Khan, but charges have not yet been brought against them. The American soldiers allegedly beat Khan between the legs, strangled him and banged his head against the wall.
Khan was taken to a field hospital after the interrogation, where he died soon after, Respekt said.
All four of the accused Czech military personnel served under the elite 601st unit of special forces of the Czech army, stationed in the town of Prostejov in the country's east. Their case is being handled by the regional prosecutor's office in the city of Brno.
The New York Times was the first to report on the investigation into Khan's death and the complicity of Czech and American military personnel in November 2018. However, Czech Defense Minister Lubomir Metnar denied the involvement of his subordinates in the incident.
