Afghan 'torture' jury discharged

Faryadi Sarwar Zardad denies torture and hostage charges

The jury in the trial of an alleged Afghan warlord has been discharged after failing to reach a verdict.

Faryadi Sarwar Zardad, of Streatham, south London, had denied torture and kidnapping in Afghanistan.

He was the first person to be tried in the UK under a law which allows alleged torturers to be tried regardless of where the alleged crime occurred.

A decision will now be made on whether to seek a retrial after the jury failed to reach a verdict after six days.

The jury of eight men and four women were told they could return majority verdicts on Tuesday.

Retrial considered

However, their foreman said there was no possibility of them being able to reach a decision, even after 25 hours of deliberations.

A decision on a possible retrial is expected when the case is next listed - on 25 November.

It was alleged Mr Zardad was a warlord in charge of the Sarobi area outside the Afghan capital Kabul at a time of much internal fighting.

The trial, which began on 8 October, heard claims that Mr Zardad would force people going through his military checkpoints to hand over money and goods.

Denial

It is also claimed he stopped supplies getting through to a rival party in Kabul.

Mr Zardad has denied stopping people at checkpoints or vehicles carrying food, saying he and his men were only there to defend the area.

During the trial, and through an interpreter, Mr Zardad, 41, said he had "never" taken hostages and that he had "given orders" against torture.

A number of witnesses, who could not be named for legal reasons, had given evidence from a specially-prepared room in the British Embassy in Kabul, which was used as an extension of the Central Criminal Court in London.