Afghanistan Accuses US of Detainee Abuse

Afghan investigators have accused the American military of abusing detainees at its main prison in the country, bolstering calls by Afghan President Hamid Karzai for the United States to turn over control of the facility and complicating talks about the US future role in Afghanistan. 
The investigators also called for any detainee held without evidence to be freed, putting the US and Afghan governments on a collision course over an issue that will decide the fate of hundreds of suspected Taliban and al Qaeda operatives captured by American forces and held indefinitely. 

Karzai took Washington by surprise Thursday when he ordered that the US military turn over full control of the prison outside Bagram Air Base within one month, a seemingly impossible deadline given US security concerns about the prisoners and the Afghan government''s weak administrative capacity. 

The countries had been working on a gradual transfer of responsibility for the prison, which holds 3,000 detainees, over two years. The demand was the latest episode of political brinkmanship as negotiations continued for a Strategic Partnership Document with America that will determine the US role in Afghanistan after 2014, when most foreign troops are due to withdraw. 
Karzai has demanded an end to unpopular night raids by US troops and control over detainees as a condition of the pact and could be seeking leverage by pushing the detainee issue now. Karzai spokesman Mohammad Sediq Amerkhil said Saturday that the president''s remarks were a direct response to the investigation team's report of abuse and prolonged detentions. 

The charges are reminiscent of allegations surrounding the US treatment of detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where admitted September 11 mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed is held. Detainees interviewed during two visits to the US-run portion of the Parwan detention center outside Bagram Air Base complained of freezing cold, humiliating strip searches and being deprived of light, according to Gul Rahman Qazi, who led the investigation ordered by Karzai. 
US Embassy spokesman Gavin Sundwall said Saturday that American officials only recently received the commission''s report. "We will certainly take seriously the report and study it," he said. He added that the United States is committed to working with the Afghan government on a joint plan to turn over detainees "in a responsible manner."
Source: BNA