CAIRO, February 12 (IslamOnline.net) – The lawyers of a CIA-contracted US interogator in Afghanistan, accused of torturing detainees, are basing his defense on the argument that he was inspired by statements made by top administration officials, including President George W. Bush, and Congress.

The attorneys of David Passaro are citing legal memos by top administration officials justifying torture as a measure to prevent further attacks on the country, the International Herald Tribune reported on Saturday, February 12.

The Justice Department had advised the Pentagon that torturing detainees outside the US “may be justified”, and that anti-torture international laws “may be unconstitutional” in interrogations related to the so-called war on terror.

The new US Attorney General, Alberto Gonzales, is accused of laying the legal groundwork that led to the torture of detainees in Abu Ghraib, Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay.

Passaro’s defense team is also citing a post-9/11 Congressional resolution urging the Bush administration to “use all necessary and appropriate force” to combat terror.

Thomas McNamara, the lead defense lawyer, has officially notified the government that he will pursue a “public authority defense” under which the defendant believed, even if incorrectly, that he was acting with the authority and approval of the government.

Passaro, a former US Army Special Forces soldier from North Carolina, was hired by the CIA in 2003 to capture alleged fighters from Taliban and Al-Qaeda and question them at a base at Asadabad, in northeast Afghanistan.

His four-count indictment says the 38-year-old interrogator beat an Afghan prisoner, Abdul Wali, who had voluntarily come forward after learning he was accused of firing rockets at a US detention facility near Asadabad on June 18, 2003.

Passaro is accused of his hands, feet and a large flashlight to beat Wali, who died in his cell two days later. He is not, however, charged with the detainee’s death.

Each count carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine upon conviction.

His brother Stephen has lambasted the Bush administration in a pro-David Web site for revealing the identity of his brother, arguing that the government wanted his brother to take the hit for it.

“The Government gave David his code name and alias, as well as all the others involved. No one knows who anyone is, except the Government, so they cannot be contacted or questioned in David's defense,” according to a statement posted on the site.

“These code names were given to the agents, contractors and soldiers to protect them and their families from retaliation. Now, after guaranteeing David's name and identity would not be disclosed, the Government has violated his rights to privacy and protection, as well as endangering his family and friends.”

Earlier in the month, a UN rights investigator examining the situation in Afghanistan accused the US-led forces of mistreating and torturing people in the war-torn country.

“There is a very unusual practice in Afghanistan, mainly foreign forces, who have taken upon themselves the right, without any legal process of arresting people, detaining them, mistreating them and possibly even torturing them,” said Cherif Bassiouni, the UN-appointed Independent Expert on Human Rights in Afghanistan.