KABUL,
May 22, 2005 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – The United
Nations condemned Sunday, May 22, the abuse of detainees by American
forces in Afghanistan, demanding a tougher action against offenders.
“Such
abuses are utterly unacceptable and are an affront to everything the
international community stands for in Afghanistan,” Jean Arnault, UN
special representative in Afghanistan, was quoted as saying by Agence
France Presse (AFP).
The
New York Times revealed on Friday, May
20, that two Afghan prisoners were tortured to death by American
soldiers in the US-run prison at Bagram airbase.
Citing
a leaked 2,000-page file on the US Army’s criminal investigation of
the case, the daily said the two Afghans died in 2002 after being
kicked, beaten and hung by their wrists from the ceiling of their
cells.
“The
gravity of these abuses calls for the punishment of all those involved
in such inexcusable crimes, as demanded by President (Hamid)Karzai,”
Arnault said in a statement.
The
NY Times report carried the story of a detainee known
only as Dilawar who was brutally killed at the Bagram Collection, despite
most of the interrogators believing he was innocent.
According
to the report, Dilawar was chained by his wrists to the top of his
cell for several days before he died and his legs had been pummeled by
guards.
Guarantees
The
UN representative said firm guarantees should be set for making sure
that such abuses would not be committed again.
He
also renewed calls for access to the US-run prisons and detention
facilities in Afghanistan by the Afghan Independent Human Rights
Commission.
“The
presence of international forces remains one of the cornerstones of
Afghanistan’s security and reconstruction.
“It
is of the utmost importance that it should also serve to protect the
exercise of the Afghan’s fundamental human rights,” Arnault said.
Speaking
to reporters before leaving on a US trip, Karzai said he was
“shocked” by the abuses of prisoners and called for punishing the
culprits.
He
also demanded the custody of the Afghan prisoners and a more say over
the US crackdown operations in the war-torn country.
