October 15, 2010
Former US military prisoners in Afghanistan have said that they were abused in a secret prison on Bagram airbase as recently as this year, raising fears that detainee mistreatment has continued despite an overhaul of US detention operations in the country.
The abuse - which includes exposure to extreme temperatures, lack of adequate food and bedding, lack of natural light and interference with religious duties - is alleged to have occurred at a secret "screening" facility on the military base north of Kabul.
The existence of the site, known amongst Afghans as the "Tor Jail", has never been admitted by US authorities, although it does acknowledge it runs a number of field sites in which prisoners are held immediately after being captured.
Prisoners are kept at the field sites before either being handed to Afghan authorities, released, or transferred to the main US detention facility at Parwan, on the edge of Bagram airbase.
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