Monday, August 23, 2004

Abu Ghraibe, Guatanamo...

and now, Afghanistan.

Bush's not only makes a habit of smearing veterans: allegations of prisoner abuse seem to follow this guy around wherever he goes, too.

What a guy.

"A United Nations Independent Expert on Afghanistan is denouncing abuses taking place at an illegal jail there, and seeking answers from the United States on getting the prisoners released.

Briefing reporters in Kabul on Saturday, Professor Cherif Bassiouni referred to a group of 725 out of some 3,200 persons originally detained by the Northern alliance -- "and apparently some US forces were involved" -- who then were transferred from Shibergan to Pul --e-Charkhi prison under the authority of the Government.

The expert, who visited the prison, called conditions there inhuman. "They violate every standard of human rights whether under UN standards of minimum rules for the treatment of offenders or under international humanitarian law," he said.

The expert also raised the issue of US forces holding between 300 and 400 detainees in Kandahar and Bagram. "Nobody has had a chance to visit them," he noted. "The lack of giving an opportunity for people to go and see these facilities is a lack of transparency that raises serious concerns about the legality of detention as well as the condition of those detentions."

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