Habibullah

Who was Habibullah?

Mullah Habibullah was an Afghan who died while in US custody on December 4, 2002. His death was one of those classed as a homicide, though the initial military statement described his death as due to natural causes.

Habibullah's brother was a Taliban leader. Carlotta Gall the New York Times reporter in Afghanistan was the first to discover the story in 2003. Captain Carolyn Wood, commander of Alpha Company of the 519th Military Intelligence Battalion and Captain Christopher Beiring, commander of the 377th Military Police Company directed their troops, at the Bagram Collection Point, to confine their captives with their arms handcuffed above their heads in order to deprive them of sleep. Lt. Gen. Daniel K. McNeill was later quoted in the press denying that Bagram prisoners had been chained to the ceiling or held in chains attached to the ceiling. Their troops routinely kneed their captives in the side of their thighs. They called these "compliance blows". During a Criminal Investigation Division inquiry their troops claimed they had been told—incorrectly—that this kind of blow was a legal, authorized use of force.

Habibullah's autopsy was performed two days after his death, and classed his death as a homicide. Dr. Ingwerson said the cause of death was "Pulmonary embolism due to blunt force injury to the legs." But this did not prevent the GIs staffing the prison from continuing to use these "compliance blows", and a second Afghani, named Dilawar died four days later, on December 10, 2002, under practically identical circumstances. Dr. Elizabeth Rouse, the coroner for Dilawar, the other murder victim, said she had seen similar damage to a man whose legs had been run over by a bus.