German prosecutors said Tuesday they had laid war crimes charges against a former Afghan military officer for abusing prisoners and desecrating the corpse of an enemy commander.
The soldier, identified only as 26-year-old Ahmad Zaheer D., allegedly abused three captured enemy fighters in late 2013 or early 2014 while other troops stood guard.
He punched them, pulled their hair and threatened to use an electro-shocker while another soldier beat them with a heavy hose, according to prosecutors.
In March 2014, he allegedly desecrated and battered the corpse of an enemy commander whom he bragged he had "killed like a donkey".
The accused then showed villagers how to attach a meat hook to the dead man's head before suspending him by a rope around his neck and saying he should be "hanged like a donkey".
Ahmad Zaheer D. was arrested in Germany in October last year. The charges were brought before a Munich court on March 29 but only announced now.
Germany is the second-largest contributor of military and developmental support to Afghanistan after the US, primarily training Afghan soldiers in the country's north.