03/29/2005

News groups ask federal judge in N.C. to open documents in alleged CIA beating

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- The News & Observer, The Associated Press and The Washington Post are asking a federal judge to unseal much of the secret prosecution of a CIA operative from North Carolina accused of beating an Afghan prisoner who died two years ago.

The news organizations filed court papers March 22 asking U.S. District Court Judge Terrence Boyle to give the public access to unclassified information in the assault case.

David Passaro, a former Special Forces soldier recruited by the CIA, is the first civilian prosecuted on charges of mistreating a military detainee in the U.S. war on terrorism.

"There's intense public interest in this case," said Amanda Martin, the lead lawyer for the news organizations. "The United States is coming under fire globally for what we're doing. It's important for the public and the world to see how we respond."

The U.S. attorney's office declined to comment.

Court officials have not followed an order Boyle issued a year ago to disclose unclassified information, the news organizations said.

The organizations also contend Boyle didn't follow proper procedures when he issued two orders sealing records. Interested parties had no chance to object, and Boyle didn't provide reasons, the plaintiffs said.

Passaro, 38, is charged with four counts of assault. He is accused of beating Abdul Wali with his hands, feet and a large flashlight during a two-day interrogation at a U.S. base in Afghanistan in June 2003. Wali, who was suspected of rocket attacks on the base, later died in custody.

Passaro is a former Fort Bragg Green Beret who went to Afghanistan under contract with the CIA as part of a paramilitary team hunting and questioning al-Qaeda suspects and Taliban members.

Prosecutors said last year that classified information used in the case could come from the CIA, National Security Agency, Defense Intelligence Agency, Department of State, National Security Council and FBI.

The unauthorized disclosure and uncontrolled dissemination of information classified as top secret or sensitive would cause grave damage to the national security of the United States, U.S. Attorney Frank Whitney's office said in a court filing at the time.

That secrecy can't apply to the entire case against Passaro, the news organizations said in their filing. Even the most difficult cases involving matters of intense national significance can give way to a certain amount of public access and scrutiny, they said.

It is important for the public to see how justice unfolds to accept the end result, Martin said.

The petition quotes an observation by former Chief Justice Warren Burger about the importance of openness. In a 1980 Supreme Court ruling he wrote, "People in an open society do not demand infallibility from their institutions, but it is difficult for them to accept what they are prohibited from observing."