JURIST - Paper Chase: Afghanistan commission calls for detainee custody transfer, alleges US abuse

[JURIST] An investigative commission in Afghanistan issued a statement on Saturday alleging the abuse of prisoners held by the US military at prisons in their country. The commission called for the transfer of all prisoners [AP report] held by the US military to Afghan custody. The detainees [JURIST news archive] held by US forces are a combination of Afghan nationals and foreign al Qaeda operatives. The commission also alleged that some prisoners are being held without evidence and called for their release. The commission was created [JURIST report] by Afghan President Hamid Karzai [official profile; JURIST news archive] in June 2010.

The status of the detainees held by the US has also been an issue at controversy in the American courts. In February 2011 District Judge John Bates of the US District Court for the District of Columbia [official website] granted a motion to amend [JURIST report] petitions for writs of habeas corpus for four detainees held at Bagram Air Base [official website; JURIST news archive]. In May 2010 a panel of the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled that detainees held at Bagram Air Base cannot bring habeas corpus challenges in US courts [JURIST report]. In January 2010 the US Department of Defense released a list of names of 645 prisoners then detained at Bagram in response to a Freedom Of Information Act lawsuit filed [JURIST reports] by the ACLU in September 2009.