American forces operating in Afghanistan have arbitrarily detained civilians, used excessive force during arrests of non-combatants, and mistreated detainees, Human Rights Watch said in a new report released on Sunday.
The rights watchdog alleged the US-administered system of arrest and detention in Afghanistan exists outside the rule of law.
The US is maintaining separate detention facilities at Bagram, Kandahar, Jalalabad and Asadabad military bases, it said.
The report also described frequent arbitrary arrests of civilians, apparently based on mistaken or faulty intelligence, and numerous cases of civilians-grocers, farmers, or labourers who were held incommunicado and indefinitely.
"The United States is setting a terrible example in Afghanistan on detention practices," said Brad Adams, executive director of the Asia division of Human Rights Watch.
"Civilians are being held in a legal black hole -- with no tribunals, no legal counsel, no family visits and no basic legal protections," he said.
The 59-page report, Enduring Freedom: Abuses by US Forces in Afghanistan, is based on research conducted by Human Rights Watch in Afghanistan and Pakistan in 2003 and early 2004.
The report also details alleged mistreatment in US detention facilities. Released detainees, it alleged, have said that US forces severely beat them, doused them with cold water and subjected them to freezing temperatures. Many said they were forced to stay awake, or to stand or kneel in painful positions for extended periods of time.
"There is compelling evidence suggesting that US personnel have committed acts against detainees amounting to torture or cruel, inhumane, or degrading treatment," it added.
The Watch documents cases of US forces using military tactics, including unprovoked deadly force, during operations to apprehend civilians in uncontested residential areas-situations where law enforcement standards and tactics should have been used.
Afghan forces deployed with US forces have also mistreated persons during search and arrest operations and looted homes, it said.
The report also details 'mistreatment' in US detention facilities. The Watch said that many of the violations documented were reported in non-combat situations, and emphasised that many abuses -- especially arbitrary arrests and mistreatment of detainees -- were inexcusable even within the context of war.
The Taliban and other anti-US forces operating in Afghanistan, it said, had themselves violated international humanitarian law by carrying out armed attacks and abductions against civilians and humanitarian aid workers. But under international law those violations could not serve as an excuse for US violations, it asserted.
"The Taliban and other insurgent groups are illegally targeting civilians and humanitarian aid workers," said Adams. "But abuses by one party to a conflict do not justify violations by the other side. This is a fundamental principle of the laws of war."
The US, the report alleged, has not responded adequately to questions about arrest and detention practices.
In particular, the Watch said it raised the case of three detainees who are known to have died while in US custody -- two at the Bagram airbase north of Kabul in December 2002 and one at the Asadabad airbase in eastern Afghanistan in June 2003.
The first two deaths were ruled homicides by US military pathologists who performed autopsies on the two men. US officials have yet to explain what happened to any of the three men, the human rights group said.
"This stonewalling must stop," said Adams. "The United States is obligated to investigate allegations and prosecute those who have violated the law. There is no sign that serious investigations are taking place."
The report said the US was eroding international standards by not taking action.
"Abusive governments across the world can now point to US forces in Afghanistan, and say, 'If they can abuse human rights and get away with it, why can't we?'" said Adams.
President George W. Bush and officials in his administration stated in June 2003 that Washington does not torture or mistreat detainees in the custody of the US.
But the Watch said the US has refused to allow any independent observers access to detention facilities in Afghanistan, except for the International Committee of the Red Cross, which does not report publicly on its findings.
