Afghan commission alleges US detainee abuse

An Afghan investigative commission accused the American military Saturday of abusing detainees at its main prison in the country, saying anyone held without evidence should be freed and backing President Hamid Karzais demand that the US turn over all prisoners to Afghan custody.The demands put the US and the Afghan governments on a collision course as negotiations continue for a Strategic Partnership Document with America that will determine the US role in Afghanistan after 2014, when most foreign troops are due to withdraw. By pushing the detainees issue now, Karzai may be seeking to bolster his hand in the negotiations.At the center of the dispute are hundreds of suspected Taliban and Al Qaeda operators captured by American forces. The controversy mirrors that surrounding the US detention center at Guantanamo Bay. There, as at the prison in Afghanistan, American forces are holding many detainees without charging them with a specific crime or presenting evidence in a civilian court.Members of the Afghan investigation said US officials told them that many of those militant suspects held at the US-run portion of the prison outside Bagram Air Base north of Kabul were taken based on intelligence that cannot be used in Afghan courts.Detainees interviewed during two visits by the investigators complained of freezing cold, humiliating strip searches and being deprived of light, according to Gul Rahman Qazi, who led the investigation ordered by Karzai.Another investigator, Sayed Noorullah, said the prison must be transferred to Afghan control as soon as possible, adding that If there is no evidence ... they have the right to be freed.US Embassy spokesman Gavin Sundwall said Saturday that American officials only received the commissions report after its press briefing. He said the US investigates all allegations of prisoner abuse.We will certainly take seriously the report and study it, he said. He added that the US is committed to working with the Afghan government on a joint plan to turn over detainees in a responsible manner.