AP, KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) – Amnesty International criticized the U.S. military on Monday for failing to announce the results of a criminal investigation into the deaths of two Afghans at a prison inside Bagram air base a year ago.
The two men died about a week apart while in U.S. custody at the base north of Kabul, the Afghan capital, and official autopsies concluded their deaths were homicides.
The U.S. Army then announced a separate criminal investigation, but no reports on its progress or conclusions have been made public, Amnesty said.
The deceased were Mullah Habibullah, about 30 years old, who died on Dec. 3, 2002, and a 22-year-old Afghan taxi driver, Dilawar, who died on Dec. 10, 2002. The U.S. autopsy reports found “blunt force injuries'' in both cases. Like many Afghans, Dilawar only had one name.
“When apparent homicides occur in secret prisons, and promised investigations show no results, the country's cherished values of humane treatment and respect for the law are dishonored,'' William F. Schulz, executive director of Amnesty International USA, said in a written statement. “The failure to account for the prisoners' deaths indicates a chilling disregard for the value of human life.''
Asked about the Amnesty report before its release, U.S. military spokesman Lt. Col. Bryan Hilferty said in Bagram on Saturday, “I accept that people under custody died here. I deny that they were mistreated.'' Hilferty said more than 100 detainees are kept there now, adding: “If we find the detainees are not anti-coalition and anti-Afghanistan, we let them go.''
Habibullah and Dilawar were among hundreds of people who have been held without charge and interrogated at Bagram air base, one of several overseas prisons operated by the United States, including one at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Amnesty said that interviews of former Bagram prisoners that were conducted by the human rights group and by journalists have shown that detainees were subjected to ill treatment that may constitute torture, including blindfolding, prolonged forced kneeling, sleep deprivation and the cruel use of shackles.
The alleged abuses took place at an interrogation section on the second floor of the Bagram detention facility, it said. Representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross are reportedly denied access to the area when they visit other parts of the facility, Amnesty said.
