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Nato halts Afghan prison transfer
6 September 2011 Last updated at 12:53 ET
Prisoner transfers to Kandahar have already endedThe Nato-led mission in Afghanistan has suspended the transfer of detainees to several Afghan jails, following torture allegations, the BBC has learned.
The accusations come in an as-yet unpublished UN report, which describes how prisoners were beaten and in some cases given electric shocks.
The jails are run by the Afghan police and intelligence service.
A Nato official said it was a “prudent” measure until the allegations could be investigated.
‘Major setback’
“With appropriate caution, Isaf [International Stabilisation and Assistance Force] has taken the prudent measure to suspend detainee transfer to certain facilities until we can verify the observations of a pending Unama [UN Mission in Afghanistan] report,” a Nato official told the BBC.
The facilities that are involved are prisons run by the Afghan National Department of Security (NDS) in Herat, Khost, Lagman, Kapisa and Takhar as well as the NDS’ Counter-Terrorism prison, known as Department 124.
Isaf has also suspended the transfer of detainees to two prisons run by the Afghan Police in Kunduz and Tarin Kowt.
The UN report accuses some police commanders of running secret jails.
The international mission has met with National Directorate of Security (NDS) chiefs and warned them that it may stop transferring prisoners in seven provinces including Khost in the south-east, Takhar in the north and Herat in the West.
In Uruzgan and Kunduz provinces, transfers of prisoners to the police may be stopped because of similar worries of mistreatment.
The transfer of prisoners in restive Kandahar province has already ended.
One official from Isaf described this as a major setback.
The Nato-led mission plans to bring foreign troops home, by handing more responsibility to Afghans. There are concerns that in some areas, Afghan security forces cannot be trusted.
Last year, Britain’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) agreed to halt the transfer of prisoners to NDS jails in Kabul, after a court ruled that they faced the risk of torture or serious mistreatment.
Prisoners are still transferred in the southern province of Helmand, but under strict supervision, according to the MOD.
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