Selena M. Salcedo
Encyclopedia
Selena M. Salcedo was an United States Army
soldier, who pled guilty to charges of dereliction of duty and assault in connection with the abuse of an Afghani
prisoner, Dilawar, who later died.
Salcedo was a member of the 519th Military Intelligence Battalion
, serving under Lieutenant Carolyn Wood
.
Salcedo had been a sergeant at the time of the deaths. Following her conviction she was reduced in rank to Specialist.
She received a letter of reprimand
, and was docked US$250 of her pay, for four months. Salcedo was not sentenced to any jail time.
The New York Times wrote a long article on the abuse at Bagram, based on 2,000-page classified report they had acquired a copy of.
That article both quotes statements Salcedo gave the Times, and quotes statements by Salcedo or about Salcedo from the classified report.
The New York Times reported that the judge in Selena's case was swayed by her claims of inexperience and lack of training.
The article quoted her military lawyer, Mario J. DeRossi:
Featured in the 2008 Academy award-winning documentary Taxi to the Dark Side
.
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
soldier, who pled guilty to charges of dereliction of duty and assault in connection with the abuse of an Afghani
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
prisoner, Dilawar, who later died.
Salcedo was a member of the 519th Military Intelligence Battalion
519th Military Intelligence Battalion
The 519th Military Intelligence Battalion is a unit of the United States Army.Personnel of the 519th MI Battalion were alleged to have killed the Afghan detainee Dilawar in custody at Bagram Theater Internment Facility in December 2002....
, serving under Lieutenant Carolyn Wood
Carolyn Wood
Carolyn Wood, United States Army captain, is a military intelligence officer who served in both Afghanistan and Iraq. She was implicated by the Fay Report to have "failed" in several aspects of her command regarding her oversight of interrogators at Abu Ghraib...
.
Salcedo had been a sergeant at the time of the deaths. Following her conviction she was reduced in rank to Specialist.
She received a letter of reprimand
Letter of reprimand
A letter of reprimand is a United States Department of Defense procedure involving a letter to an employee or soldier from his or her superior that details the wrongful actions of the person and the punishment that can be expected...
, and was docked US$250 of her pay, for four months. Salcedo was not sentenced to any jail time.
The New York Times wrote a long article on the abuse at Bagram, based on 2,000-page classified report they had acquired a copy of.
That article both quotes statements Salcedo gave the Times, and quotes statements by Salcedo or about Salcedo from the classified report.
The New York Times reported that the judge in Selena's case was swayed by her claims of inexperience and lack of training.
The article quoted her military lawyer, Mario J. DeRossi:
- "She knew that she didn't have the training or experience as an interrogator. She never once said, 'I can't do it.'"
Featured in the 2008 Academy award-winning documentary Taxi to the Dark Side
Taxi to the Dark Side
Taxi to the Dark Side is a 2007 documentary film directed by American filmmaker Alex Gibney, and produced by Eva Orner and Susannah Shipman, which won the 2007 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature...
.