US says abuse of detainees at Afghan base not tolerated

May 21, 2005|Associated Press

KABUL, Afghanistan -- The US military said yesterday that it does not tolerate any mistreatment of detainees, in response to allegations of repeated abuse by ''young, poorly trained soldiers" at its main base in Afghanistan.

The New York Times reported the allegations yesterday, citing a 2,000-page confidential file of the Army's criminal investigation into the deaths of two Afghans at the Bagram base north of Kabul in December 2002.

''There is no excuse for mistreatment of detainees," Colonel James Yonts, the US military spokesman in Kabul, said in an e-mail response to questions about the report. ''Military and civilian members are expected to abide by the highest standards and when their actions contradict these standards, appropriate action will be taken. The command has made it very clear that any incidents of abuse will not be tolerated."

President Bush was ''alarmed by the reports of prisoner abuse" and wants them thoroughly investigated, White House spokesman Trent Duffy said, adding that seven people are being investigated in connection with abuse at Bagram Air Base.

''What the military and what the president supported is investigations, holding people to account," Duffy said. ''We've taken steps, we've taken new policies to ensure that this doesn't happen again, and we're holding people to account."

The Times reported that the file of the criminal investigation ''depicts young, poorly trained soldiers in repeated incidents of abuse," which in some instances ''was directed or carried out by interrogators to extract information."

It reported that one of the two Afghans killed, a 22-year-old taxi driver identified as Dilawar, was pummeled on his legs by guards for several days and chained with his arms to the ceiling.

Most of the interrogators believed he was an innocent man who simply drove his taxi past the base at the wrong time, the newspaper said.