[originaltext] A former Afghan warlord convicted of torture and hostage-takin

A former Afghan warlord convicted of torture and hostage-taking in his country was sentenced Tuesday to 20 years in a British prison.
   It was the first time anyone had been tried in Britain for torture in another country. Britain argues that serious crimes against humanity can be tried in any country and that it has a right to prosecute Faryadi Sarwar Zardad because he was arrested in England.
   Zardad was convicted Monday for torture and hostage taking in an area outside Kabul between Dec. 31, 1991, and Sept. 30, 1996.
   Prosecutors said Zardad was in charge of the road from Kabul to Jalalabad in the Sarobi area from 1991-96, and his men set up checkpoints where they trapped and abused opponents.
   "He and his soldiers wanted to create an atmosphere of fear and terror. He wanted a fearsome reputation for being cruel and merciless at his military checkpoints," prosecutor James Lewis told London’s Old Bailey court.
   Witnesses gave evidence via video link from the British Embassy in Kabul.
   Another witness said he was held for months and was beaten so often that his family didn’t recognize him. A boy said he had seen his father tortured and his ear cut by Zardad’s men.
   The court heard that Zardad fled for his life from his homeland in 1998, having fought both the invading Soviets and the Taliban. He came to London on a fake passport in 1998 and managed a pizza parlor in the capital when he was arrested.
   In November,  an Old Bailey jury failed to reach a verdict at Zardad’s first trial, and the Crown Prosecution Service ordered a retrial.
   "Mr. Zardad was found in England. An international convention
and English law allow the trial in England of anyone who has committed torture or hostage taking, irrespective of where those crimes were commit ted," attorney general Lord Goldsmith told Zardad’s first trial.
   Passing sentence, the judge told Zardad the gravity of his crimes "is demonstrated by the fact that most unusually a person who has committed them in another country can be tried and punished for them by the courts of this country."
   "That is a position recognized not only by our Parliament, but also by the civilized international community," the judge said.