[JURIST] US Army Sgt. Joshua R. Claus is expected to plead guilty to charges that he abused detainees in Afghanistan, at his military trial Wednesday. Last month, Claus, a military intelligence interrogator, was charged [JURIST report] with dereliction of duty and assault of two Afghan detainees in his custody at the Bagram Control Point [Global Security profile] in Afghanistan in 2002. The government alleges that Claus forced an unnamed detainee to roll across the floor and kiss another soldier's boots, forced water down the throat of another detainee, known as Dilawar [Wikipedia profile], and also tightly twisted a hood over the man's head. Dilawar later died from injuries he sustained at the hands of interrogators. Last week, military officials charged two more soldiers [JURIST report] in the ongoing investigation into abuse at the Afghan facility [Wikipedia backgrounder]. To date, 14 soldiers have been charged in the investigation, one has been convicted, and two acquitted. AP has more.
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