Warlord set 'human dog' on hostages, court told

An Afghan warlord accused of torture and hostage-taking kept a "human dog" in an underground pit which he unleashed on his victims, the Old Bailey was told yesterday.

An Afghan warlord accused of torture and hostage-taking kept a "human dog" in an underground pit which he unleashed on his victims, the Old Bailey was told yesterday.

In the first criminal trial of its kind, Faryadi Sarwar Zardad, 42, who now lives in London, denies waging a five-year terror campaign in Afghanistan in which civilians were routinely beaten and taken hostage. He was running a pizza restaurant in south London when he was arrested in July 2003.

Afghan witnesses, who are due to give their evidence by video link, will tell of torture, imprisonment and their experience of the "human dog", said the Attorney General, Lord Goldsmith, who is acting for the prosecution in the case. One who was stopped at a checkpoint was beaten by soldiers who accused him of supporting a rival warlord.

"He gives an account of the human dog. The human dog was biting people and eating testicles under the orders of the soldiers at the checkpoint," said Lord Goldsmith. Another witness would testify that his brother was taken from a bus by soldiers and was later killed, said the Attorney General. He had accompanied British police officers to the Sarobi area and identified three of Mr Zardad's checkpoints to them.

"He points out where the 'human dog' was kept in chains and said if travellers did not have money to pay the soldiers, they were put in a tent with the 'human dog'." The prosecution alleges that Mr Zardad was in charge of the checkpoints and was implicated in what was done. "He participated in conduct which amounts to both torture and hostage-taking," said Lord Goldsmith.

Section 134 of the Criminal Justice Act allows Britain to try alleged torturers regardless of where the crime is alleged to have occurred. It was adopted in 1988 in line with the United Nations Convention Against Torture. Although the matters did not concern the UK, Lord Goldsmith said that some crimes were so heinous they could be tried in any country.

He told the court Mr Zardad was a warlord in Afghanistan, in charge of the Sarobi area outside Kabul, at a time of much internal fighting. Lord Goldsmith said he controlled soldiers in that area and wanted to create an atmosphere of terror.

"He wanted a fearsome reputation of being cruel and merciless at his military checkpoints, so that people passing through would obey them absolutely and give them money and goods," he said.

The court heard the defendant and his soldiers used "indiscriminate and unwarranted" violence. "They would beat, wound and even shoot and kill civilians. They would detain and imprison them and hold them for ransom," he said. "Zardad must have known and consented to the infliction of severe pain and suffering on this witness."

Witness B would tell how he was abducted at a road block, suffered torture and witnessed the deaths of 24 of his fellow prisoners during a five-month detention, he said. The court would also hear how Witness C was snatched from a lorry, then interrogated and beaten at least 20 times over the course of two-and-a-half months. Explaining the charges, Lord Goldsmith said that torture was committed if a public official or person who was acting in an official capacity intentionally inflicted severe pain or suffering on another in performance or purported performance of official duties.

Mr Sarwar, from Streatham, south London, listened to the case against him through an interpreter in the dock. Mr Sarwar, also known as Zardad Khan, moved to Britain in 1998.

He denies conspiracy to torture and conspiracy to take hostages between 31 December 1991 and 30 September 1996 in Afghanistan. His counsel, Anthony Jennings QC, said that Mr Zardad had fought both the Russians and the Taliban in his homeland.

"He is now fighting for his future - and it is in your hands," Mr Jennings told the jury.

Mr Jennings urged them to treat prosecution witnesses from Afghanistan with care and ask if they had an axe to grind or whether they came from a group opposed to Mr Zardad.

"You have heard an allegation that he kept a 'human dog'. You would expect if such an individual existed there would be countless individuals to come forward to tell you about his existence. We will see."

The trial continues.