Afghans allege mistreatment at secret U.S. jail in Afghanistan

[News_Editor]

Afghans allege mistreatment at secret U.S. jail in Afghanistan

2010-10-15 12:27:07 GMT+7 (ICT)

WASHINGTON, D.C. (BNO NEWS) -- Former detainees who were allegedly held at a secret detention facility in Afghanistan claim they were mistreated by the U.S. military, according to a report released by the Open Society Foundations.

The report cites several Afghans who claim they were held at a secret detention facility known as "Tor Jail" or "Black Jail". This jail is said to be located inside Bagram Air Field, the main American military base in Afghanistan.

While American officials deny the existence of such a secret prison, the Afghans claim they were held in excessively cold isolation cells, supplied inappropriate or inadequate food, bedding, and blanketing, denied exposure to natural light, unable to carry out their religious duties, restricted from exercise, and kept from meeting with the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Some of the Afghans who claim they were held at the prison said they were held at the prison as recently as 2010.

"The allegations about Tor Jail should be taken seriously by the Obama Administration, which has sought to reform detention practices in Afghanistan," said Jonathan Horowitz, human rights expert and author of the report by the Open Society Foundations, which was founded by liberal political activist George Soros.

According to Open Society Foundations, the allegations - if true - appear to violate U.S. rules of detainee treatment, including those in the Army's Human Intelligence Collector Operations Field Manual, and Common Article 3 of the Four Geneva Conventions of 1949, which prohibits "cruel treatment and torture," and "outrages upon personal dignity, in particular humiliating and degrading treatment."

"Despite the government's insistence that its detention rules meet the minimum requirements under international law, it appears that this facility is either ignoring those rules or interpreting them so loosely that they make detainees susceptible to mistreatment," said Horowitz.

The report calls on the government to conduct an investigation to ensure that personnel at the facility - if there is indeed one - uphold Department of Defense detainee treatment rules and standards.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2010-10-15