HRW decries abuse of Afghans by US forces

US military forces in Afghanistan have mistreated detainees, arbitrarily detained civilians and used excessive force in arrests of non-combatants, Human Rights Watch said in a new report released yesterday.

The rights watchdog said it concluded "the US-administered system of arrest and detention in Afghanistan exists outside of the rule of law." The United States has detention facilities at Bagram, Kandahar, Jalalabad and Asadabad military bases.

"The United States is setting a terrible example in Afghanistan on detention practices," said Brad Adams, executive director of the Asia division of Human Rights Watch.

"Civilians are being held in a legal black hole -- with no tribunals, no legal counsel, no family visits and no basic legal protections."

And Washington has not responded adequately to questions about arrest and detention practices, the group charged.

It gave the example of three detainees it said were known to have died while in US custody, two at the Bagram airbase north of Kabul in December 2002 and one at Asadabad in June 2003. The first two deaths were ruled homicides by US military pathologists who performed autopsies on the two men, but US officials have yet to explain what happened to any of the three men, the group said.

"This stonewalling must stop," said Adams. "The United States is obligated to investigate allegations and prosecute those who have violated the law. There is no sign that serious investigations are taking place."