UN finds torture, ill-treatment in Afghan prisons
Around a third of all conflict-related detainees in
Afghanistan say they have suffered from torture or ill-treatment, the UN said
in a report Wednesday.
UN officials interviewed a total of 618 detainees
held in 77 government facilities across the country between January 2017 and
December 2018. The alleged torture included beatings, suffocation and electric
shocks, ABC News reported.
The joint report by the UN mission to Afghanistan
and the UN Human Rights Office said 32 of detainees reported torture or
mistreatment, down from 39 during the previous reporting period, from January
2015 to December 2016.
The US-backed Afghan government is holding thousands
of detainees, many of them captured as part of the ongoing war with the
Taliban. The insurgents have made major gains in recent years and now
effectively control half the country. Widespread corruption and distrust of the
government has undermined efforts to combat the Taliban.
