by Thomas Gatta
- 20 -
Maddie waited while her next witness, the Afghan Government official who had led the regime’s investigation of the Khandahar killings, was seated. The official was dressed in expensive, subdued Western clothing. During her earlier interviews of him, he’d proved fluent in English and receptive to being questioned by an American woman attorney. Maddie knew he had attended Cambridge University and lived in London for much of his life before returning to Afghanistan to work for former President Karzai. The official now divided his time between Afghanistan and London, running a profitable export-import business.
After directing the official to state for the court his role in the Afghan Government during 2009—he was a special advisor and assistant to Karzai—Maddie asked him to describe the scope and methods behind his investigation. He did so, stating that Karzai had tasked him with determining whether the dead were civilians or Taliban members. The official recounted that the Afghan public was pressing Karzai to stop the night raids that were occurring in multiple areas of Afghanistan. Taliban were dying, but so were many civilians.
Karzai, wanting to show that he was responsive to public pleas for relief, had repeatedly voiced his displeasure to coalition military leaders over the use of tactics that resulted in civilian killings. Nonetheless, during the several months prior to the Khandahar incident, civilian deaths in night raids had been increasing rather than declining. According to the official, the Khandahar killings further inflamed the already angry public and resulted in demonstrations in Khandahar and protests in Kabul. Karzai had been furious when he heard about the incident. He ordered the official to take a team to Khandahar to determine whether civilians or Taliban were killed and who had killed them. The official said Karzai had instructed him to report directly to him with his findings.
Maddie walked toward the witness stand and asked, “Sir, could you tell us what you reported to President Karzai?”
“Yes, of course, Ms. Kozak. I told the President that my team conducted interviews of local officials, inhabitants of the area, the individuals the raiding team had pulled from the first floor of the main building and side building, and the victims’ families. My team also examined the bodies and the scene of the crime. We determined that a raiding force that included Americans and Afghans had launched a night attack on a school in the Khandahar area and killed 16 schoolboys and several other civilians who were staying on the compound—20 civilians, not Taliban or al Qa’ida sympathizers.”
The Afghan official looked at the jurors one-by-one and said, “I also told the President that it was impossible that those students who were killed—ranging in age from 12 to 17—were Taliban. Almost all had been sent to the school by their families to keep them out of the way of the terrorists. And the other civilians who were killed were travelers passing through the area. They were staying at the school because they thought it would be a safe place to break their journeys for the night.”
Maddie said, “And what did you find out about who had killed the students and civilians?”
The official looked back at Maddie and replied, “We found little information about the raiders. We determined, after coordinating with the NATO investigating team, that the raiders were not NATO forces, and our own Ministry of Defense denied that Afghan Army forces had done the killing. Still, our witnesses said Americans and Afghan soldiers were in the raiding party.”
“And did you find and talk to the Afghan soldiers who had been present during the raid?”
The official shook his head and said, “We did not. They were not made available to us. As I said, the Ministry of Defense denied that Afghan forces were involved, even though the local observers said Afghan soldiers were present. I should add that the inhabitants of the first floor of the main house and the smaller house on the compound told my team that, the night of the raid, American and Afghan forces pulled them from their beds and dragged them outside.”
The official continued, “The witnesses said they were not inside the main house when the students were killed. The witnesses told us they could see flashes from the second story widows and that they heard thuds. The witnesses—as I mentioned, these were the people dragged from their beds by the raiding party—were taken to a local police station later that night and interrogated. Some of the officers on the local police force knew the residents of the compound and recognized immediately that they were not Taliban or terrorist sympathizers.”
Maddie said, “Please continue Sir.”
“When the residents of the compound returned to the school—it was the next day, by that time—they found the bodies of the slain schoolboys. All were lying in or near their beds and had gunshot wounds to their heads or chests.”
“And Sir, did the residents of the compound, upon their return, observe any guns near the bodies?”
“No, Ms. Kozak. They observed no guns near the bodies when they returned. In fact, they stated that all the guns that had been in the main house were gone when they returned. The residents said that, before the raid, the only guns the school had were on the second floor in the room where the boys slept. The guns—old Soviet rifles that the teachers kept in case of smugglers or other trouble for the school—ordinarily were piled in a corner. The residents told us that, when they returned, the guns were gone from the compound.”
Maddie asked, “And did the residents, the day they returned to the compound, observe any members of the raiding team doing site exploitation and taking photos?”
“They told us they did not see anyone foreign to the area when they returned to the compound, which was late in the afternoon of the next day. They did say that items in the houses had been moved and that the schoolroom had been ransacked.”
“Sir, what did you find out about what the residents did next?”
“They went to local officials to protest the killings, and they notified the victims’ families to come and collect the bodies for burial.”
“And did anyone from your team examine the bodies?”
“Only very briefly, Ms. Kozak. There was no time for autopsies, as the burials, according to our customs, needed to take place quickly. Local officials in Khandahar also had examined the bodies before we arrived, and the local officials as well as my team took pictures, which I provided to you.”
Maddie said, “For the record, the photos are included in the exhibits the prosecution has already presented to the court.” She turned to the Afghan official and asked, “When you examined the bodies, what did you find?”
“We discovered that all the boys had been shot in the head or torso. All the bodies were lying in or near beds.”
Maddie asked, “Did you see any signs that the bodies had been moved?”
“No. We saw no signs of that—blood smears or other evidence the bodies might have been tampered with.”
“And did you see signs that the boys had resisted or of any struggle in the room?”
“No, Ms. Kozak, we did not. As far as we could determine with our investigation, the raiding party faced no armed or unarmed resistance from our Afghan schoolboys. My investigation concluded that the boys were asleep when they were shot in their beds with silenced guns.”
Simon called, “Objection, Your Honor. The witness was not present during the shootings.”
McNamara said, “Overruled. The witness is describing the conclusions of his investigation, not offering a first-hand account. Continue Ms. Kozak.”
“Sir, why did you conclude that the boys were shot with silenced guns?”
“My team heard from the residents who were detained outside the main house that they had seen flashes on the second floor, but they heard no gunshots. In addition, had the guns not been silenced, after the first shots, the students would have been alerted to the attack and either resisted or fled. Neither action apparently happened. We found no survivors to the second-floor attack, nor did we find any evidence of resistance.”
Maddie asked, “Sir, what sort of evidence of resistance would you have expec
ted to find?”
“We would have thought that the sleeping room would have been in disarray and bodies scattered. We would have expected far more wounds than just to the heads and torsos. We also would have expected some of the boys to have reached the Soviet rifles and to have fired shots at the raiders. Although the rifles were no longer in the room when we did our investigation, we found no evidence that any guns were fired other than those used to kill the boys. In other words, we did not find any bullet holes in the walls, ceiling, or floor, which we would have expected, had the boys tried to use the Soviet weapons to resist. Untrained boys firing guns in the dark would have made a mess in that room, Ms. Kozak. Also, remember, our witnesses outside told us that they did not recall hearing any gunshots. So my team concluded that boys did not put up any armed resistance.”
“Sir, did the boys have any knives, sticks, or other items they could have used as weapons?”
“We did not find any in the sleeping room.”
“And you said that you saw no signs of unarmed resistance? What did you mean by that?”
“We did not see any signs that the boys had left their beds to oppose their attackers. As I mentioned earlier, the bodies were in or not far from the beds. That indicated to us that the boys either were asleep, or, if they awakened and recognized they were under attack, they were killed before they could do anything about it.”
Maddie said, “Thank you, Sir,” turned, and walked back to the prosecution table to look at her notes. She looked back at the official and asked, “Sir, what did President Karzai do in response to your report on your investigation?”
Simon said, “Objection. Not relevant.”
Judge McNamara looked over the top of her glasses at Simon and said, “I think it is, and I’d like to hear it, so I’ll ask the witness to please answer the question.”
“The President acknowledged that the victims were civilians and offered 75,000 afghanis to the victims’ families. The families took the compensation, but still expressed their dismay that the raiders were not found and punished.”
“Sir, could you please tell the court how much in US dollars 75,000 afghanis would be?”
“Yes, of course. It’s about 1,300 US dollars.”
Maddie raised her eyebrows and, looking at the jury, asked, “So each life was worth only $1,300?”
Simon called, “Objection.”
McNamara replied, “Sustained.”
Maddie nodded and asked, “So, Sir, what happened after the Afghan
Government paid the families?”
The official shrugged his shoulders, “Nothing more, Ms. Kozak. There was little more I, or the President, could do. We did not have access to the raiders, and we could do nothing more to satisfy the victims’ families. All we could do, as before, was to ask NATO and the coalition forces to stop the night raids that were killing our people.”
Maddie said “Thank you, Sir. I have no more questions.”
Judge McNamara said, “Mr. Smith, do you wish to cross examine the witness?”
Simon replied, “Yes, Your Honor, I have just a few questions.”
Simon asked, “Sir, did you or your investigations team speak with any direct witnesses to the killings?”
“No we did not.”
“Did you take statements from any of those who participated in the raid?”
Maddie called, “Objection, Your Honor. We already established that he did not.”
McNamara replied, “Sustained.”
Simon nodded and asked, “Sir, is it correct to say that the Afghan Government initiated no prosecutions in this case because it had no information on who was involved?”
“Yes, at the time, we did not. Now we do, after your Justice Department representatives came to us. The Afghan Government decided to bow to your Government’s application of extraterritorial jurisdiction.”
Smith looked at the jury and caught the eyes of several jury members as he asked, “Sir, you said you interviewed the civilians that the raiders pulled from the first floor? Were any of those people inside the building when the killings occurred?”
The Afghan official replied, “Yes, we interviewed the civilians pulled from the first floor of the buildings, and, to our knowledge, they were not present in the building when the killings occurred.”
Simon, looking at the jury again, said, “So, Sir, none of them could provide any information on the raiders?”
“No, they did not know them.”
“And all of your information is circumstantial?”
Maddie called, “Objection, Your Honor.”
McNamara said, “Sustained. Mr. Smith, watch yourself.”
Simon said, “Sorry, Your Honor. No more questions now,” and he looked once more at several jury members and walked back to the defense table.
- 21 -
Maddie, as she packed up her files and collected her notes at the prosecution’s table, looked over at Scott, and said, “Thank God the weekend is here. I need it—badly.”
He nodded, stacking his own files. “It’s been a long week, and next week will be, too. I know you’re going to be crashing on prep for Monday, but do you have anything fun planned?”
“No, not really. Maybe a long run. I need to clear my brain. Right now, it’s full of sauerkraut.”
Scott raised his eyebrows and smiled. “Sauerkraut? Not chocolate?”
“Nope. Sauerkraut. Stinky, pickled cabbage, that leaves an after taste and causes gas—brain farts. Chocolate would be good.”
Scott laughed, “But you know, some of us actually like sauerkraut, especially with German sausages, mustard, and beer.”
“Yes, but on your plate, not in your head. And my head feels full of sauerkraut. So running this weekend would be good. What about you? Do you have plans?”
“I think I’ll drive down to Charlottesville to talk to a friend down there at the JAG Legal Center. She’s promised me some law of war tutoring that might be useful.”
Maddie said, “She? Hmm.”
“Yes, she’s an old friend and married to an even older friend. I’ll drive down tomorrow and have lunch with them. I can fill you in on Sunday afternoon if you’ll be in the office.”
Maddie smiled and nodded to him. “I will be, and I’d like to hear what they have to say. I really am glad you’re going down there tomorrow. I know we’ll need your friends’ help, and I’m feeling swamped with some of the other trial preparation. Oh, and I still need to talk to Rick to see what’s he’s found out about the jurors.”
“No problem. I’ve been meaning to get down to Charlottesville for a visit, and this case gives me an added incentive. Plus it’s a nice drive down with the leaves changing.”
Maddie and Scott walked out of the courtroom and nodded to Gus, the guard at the door. As they left, Maddie noticed a man sitting by himself on a bench a little way down the hall from the courtroom. Most of the crowd had thinned out while she and Scott had gathered their materials and talked. She and Scott were among the last to leave the courtroom. So it seemed a bit odd to Maddie that the man might still be waiting for someone. And he seemed to be watching the courtroom rather than talking on his cell phone. Maddie glanced again at the man over her shoulder as she and Scott passed him. He made eye contact with her but didn’t acknowledge her otherwise. Maddie had the sense that the man, though dressed in Western clothes—dark slacks and an open-necked blue dress shirt—was foreign. She also got the feeling that he was distressed about something. She didn’t know exactly why, maybe the way he was holding his head and shoulders or just something in his eyes when he’d met hers. He seemed sad.
As they left the courthouse, Maddie asked Scott, “Did you notice that guy on the bench outside the courtroom? A dark-haired guy, maybe foreign, in a blue shirt?”
Scott looked back toward the courthouse and then over at Maddie, “I remember seeing a guy sitting there. Why do you ask?”
“No reason, really. It just seemed strange. He looked like he was watching the court
room. Forget it, though, it must be the sauerkraut in my brain, again. Have a good evening.”
Scott smiled and said, “Okay. I’m heading out. I’ll see you Sunday afternoon. Don’t run too fast or too far. And don’t forget to eat.” Scott knew Maddie got light headed if she didn’t refuel often enough.
Maddie waved at him and headed toward the parking garage. She’d driven her car today rather than taking the Metro, like she usually did. Maybe she could make a late CrossFit class at her “box” before she heated up her leftovers and started reviewing the case again tonight. She didn’t feel like going out with friends with so much work to do.
- 22 -
Assadullah had seen the pair of prosecutor lawyers—at least he was pretty sure that was who they were—leave the courtroom. The woman lawyer had looked at him directly. And she’d really looked at him, not through him. Odd that. Usually people didn’t really see him. As far as he could tell, no one else leaving the courtroom had paid him any attention. Including the man he was convinced was Haji’s killer and the one who was probably the man’s defense attorney. But the woman prosecutor had noticed him. Assadullah thought she had sad eyes.
- 23 -
As they walked toward the parking garage, Bennett turned to Simon and, with a smile, asked, “So, do you think we’re winning?”
Simon glanced at Bennett and said, “No, but I don’t think we’re losing either. As you’ve said any number of times, the prosecution is short on hard evidence. What they do have, though, is good experts.”
