Afghan prisoners standing in Kabul prison (AFP)

New York, March 8 (IslamOnline.net) – The U.S. forces in Afghanistan are setting a terrible example in arbitrarily detaining civilians, using excessive force during arrests and mistreating detainees, Human Rights Watch said in a new report released Monday, March 8.

The U.S.-based rights watchdog said that the arrest and detention of Afghan civilians by U.S. forces exists outside of the rule of law and were based on mistaken and faulty intelligence.    

“Civilians are being held in a legal black hole – with no tribunals, no legal counsel, no family visits and no basic legal protections,” said Brad Adams, executive director of the Asia division of HRW. 

Titled “Enduring Freedom”, the 59-page report documented cases of U.S. forces using “unprovoked deadly force” during their sweeps to arrest civilians in “uncontested residential areas”.

Criticizing the U.S. tactics in separate detention facilities at Bagram, Kandahar, Jalalabad and Asadabad, the report also did not exonerate the U.S.-sanctioned Afghan forces.

It said such forces have also mistreated persons and looted homes.

‘Compelling Evidence’

Adams said there is “compelling evidence” suggesting that U.S. personnel have committed such acts, which violate international law. 

He said the practices amounted to “torture or cruel, inhumane, or degrading treatment”.

The report cited counts of released detainees, who said that U.S. forces “severely beat them, doused them with cold water and subjected them to freezing temperatures.

Many others, added the report, said they were forced to “stay awake, or to stand or kneel in painful positions for extended periods of time”. 

It said that many of the violations documented were reported in non-combat situations, and emphasized that many abuses “were inexcusable even within the context of war”.

“This stonewalling must stop…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,” Adams added.  

“Abusive governments across the world can now point to U.S. forces in Afghanistan, and say, 'If they can abuse human rights and get away with it, why can't we?'” He added. 

The report, which was conducted in Afghanistan and Pakistan in 2003 and early 2004, concluded that the United States was “eroding international standards” by not taking action. 

Amnesty International condemned last May U.S. breaches of international law under the cover of the so-called war on terror.