Afghan prison sparks row with U.S.

Published: Jan. 7, 2008 at 9:53 AM
Order reprints
Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai speaks before the 62nd General Assembly at the United Nations on September 25, 2007 in New York City. (UPI Photo/Monika Graff)
Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai speaks before the 62nd General Assembly at the United Nations on September 25, 2007 in New York City. (UPI Photo/Monika Graff) | Enlarge Enlarge
WASHINGTON, Jan. 7 (UPI) -- U.S. officials in Afghanistan met obstacles in the transfer of detainees from a secretive prison to a high-security facility run by the Afghan military.

The Bush administration met logistical and diplomatic difficulties in transferring prisoners held at the secretive Bagram Theater Internment Facility to a refurbished maximum security detention center controlled by the Afghan military, The New York Times reported Monday.

The difficulties concerned assurances from the government of Afghanistan regarding the treatment of and accountability for the prisoners transferred to Afghan custody.

The Afghan government rejected adopting a prison system modeled after the contentious U.S. naval detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and the "enemy combatant" legal framework.

The diplomatic row comes as Pentagon and Red Cross officials expressed concerns about the treatment of detainees at the Bagram facility.

A confidential Red Cross memorandum said prison officials held many of its detainees in isolation for months in undisclosed wards and occasionally subjected them to cruel treatment in violation of humanitarian law, the Times said.


© 2008 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved.



Deadly day for British in Afghanistan (2 min)
Obama arrives in Ghana (48 min)
Croatia leads U.S. 2-0 at Davis Cup tennis
MLB: St. Louis 8, Chicago Cubs 3
Report: Bailout funds could help small biz
Werth named NL All-Star for Beltran
Home sales rise in Baltimore area
fark
Photoshop these creepy earrings
Patronizing Tijuana hookers while on drugs may be unhealthy, according to Dr. N.S. Sherlock, of...
Defense lawyers request words like "polygamy,""cult" and "compound" not be used in their client's...
TSG Mugshot roundup: Twin billing
Barbie-Con visitors split on major issue: Are you allowed to open her box and play with it?
It's been 10 years since "The Blair Witch Project." Where were you when this crappy, one-joke, overhyped...