NATO Afghan detainees being tortured - NATO says no evidence of torture - NATO general says there is

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http://africa.reuters.com/world/news/usnL12720597.html

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Amnesty International urged NATO troops in Afghanistan on Monday to suspend all transfers of detainees to Afghan authorities, citing persistent allegations that prisoners face torture.

The rights group said dozens of prisoners taken by the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) had been handed over to Afghanistan's intelligence services, the National Directorate of Security (NDS), despite such allegations.

"Amnesty International is concerned that ISAF states are breaching their international obligations by handing over detainees to the NDS, where detainees are at grave risk of torture and ill-treatment," it said in a report.

International conventions prohibit transfers of prisoners if there is reason to suspect abuse and some rights experts say Western troops could face prosecution in such cases.

http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSISL128397

KABUL, Nov 14 (Reuters) - NATO said on Wednesday it had no evidence of systematic torture of detainees it had handed to Afghan authorities after a rights group accused the force of breaking its own rules by not ensuring prisoners' safety.

Amnesty International said the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) was in effect complicit in the mistreatment of detainees it handed to Afghan authorities, particularly the National Directorate of Security (NDS), and should suspend prisoner transfers until safeguards were in place.

"NATO-ISAF has no evidence of systematic mistreatment and torture of detainees handed over to Afghan authorities by ISAF," Nicholas Lunt, the civilian spokesman for the force, told a news conference.

http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,2913235,00.html

The executive head of the ISAF troops in Afghanistan, Gen. Egon Ramms, confirmed Amnesty International accusations and told Deutsche Welle that NATO knew prisoners handed over to Afghan authorities were later tortured.