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October 11, 2011

U.N. Report Details Widespread, Systematic Torture at Afghan Detention Facilities 
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A new United Nations report details widespread and systematic torture at
sites run by the U.S.-backed Afghan intelligence services and Afghan
national police. While the report does not assess whether American
officials have known about the abuse, it does raise serious questions
about whether the United States is benefiting from information obtained
from torture victims. Made possible by interviews with more than 300
prisoners over the last year, the report could set in motion American
laws banning the United States from providing assistance to military
units it suspects of torture, just as the United States is in process of
transferring power to the Afghan authorities. The U.N. report include
allegations of Afghan security officials hanging prisoners from hooks,
beating them with cables and twisting their genitals until they pass
out. The Afghan government denies these accusations but concedes that
the nation’s detention system does suffer from some "deficiencies."



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