Australian and Dutch troops accused of passing captives to Afghan torturers

This is from the Age. Obviously Canada is not the only country facing problems with the transfer of prisoners to Afghan authorities. There is no mention of the U.S. Perhaps they are able to keep all their prisoners themselves or if they do hand them over to Afghans they don't worry about possible torture.


Troops accused of passing captives to Afghan torturers
Tom Hyland
May 4, 2008

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PRISONERS captured by Australian and Dutch troops in Afghanistan allege they have been beaten after being handed over to the notorious Afghan secret police.

While the Australian Defence Force says there is no evidence prisoners taken by Australian troops have been mistreated, official documents show three have complained they were beaten around the head by secret police after being captured by the Dutch-Australian taskforce.

The Dutch documents show prisoners are routinely handed over to Afghanistan's National Directorate of Security (NDS), which human rights groups accuse of torturing and abusing prisoners.

International law prohibiting torture outlaws returning a person to the custody of a nation where they risk torture or other ill-treatment.

The heavily censored foreign and defence ministry documents, released to a Dutch newspaper, do not specify the nationality of the troops who captured the men.

Nor is there any allegation of abuses by Australian troops, although there is one claim of mistreatment by Dutch soldiers.

But the documents mention prisoners taken by Australians in Oruzgan province, where they serve with the Dutch.

They include an email from a Dutch official on January 4, referring to a formal investigation of a complaint involving a detainee, and the need to "inform the Australians".

The email said the investigation involved "sensitive matters".

Another email, on March 9 last year, says Australian special forces were expected to capture more prisoners.

An earlier report, in November 2006, reveals an Australian offer to help extend a Dutch detention centre that was running out of room.

The documents reveal close consultations between allies amid controversy over the handling of prisoners and allegations of torture by the NDS secret police.

And they raise questions about the monitoring of prisoners handed to the NDS.

Australian troops do not run a detention camp. Instead, they hand prisoners to a Dutch temporary detention centre at the Dutch/Australian base at Tarin Kowt. They are kept there for 96 hours before being released or passed to the NDS.

Under an agreement between the Dutch and Afghan governments, their conditions are monitored by the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission. Dutch diplomats also make periodic visits to NDS prisons.

Australian officials undertake no such monitoring. In a written response to questions from The Sunday Age, the ADF said it was "satisfied" the monitoring covered by the Dutch agreement was "sufficient".

The internal documents were obtained by the NRC Handelsblad daily under freedom of information laws. They reveal complaints made to Dutch diplomats last year by prisoners captured by the taskforce and transferred to the NDS.

One said he was beaten "several times" in Tarin Kowt. Another complained he was beaten on the head three times in Oruzgan, and pointed to a scar. A third prisoner made similar allegations.

The ADF refuses to say how many prisoners it has captured, citing "operational and security reasons".

The Dutch Government says that since 2006 the taskforce has taken 150 prisoners. Most are released soon after capture. The documents list 62 prisoners detained last year, of whom 21 were passed to the NDS.

The documents mention 13 prisoners captured by Australians — two in May, four in June, one in July, two in August (one slightly wounded and the other described as from Pakistan) and four in December.

In its response to The Sunday Age, the ADF said it was aware of complaints by prisoners.

"The Netherlands has advised Australia that it has investigated a claim. Australia is not in a position to comment on the Dutch investigation of this claim," the ADF said.

"Australia remains satisfied that our detainee arrangements, including assurances and arrangements with the Dutch Government, sufficiently address our international and domestic legal obligations regarding detainees." It referred further questions to the Netherlands Foreign Ministry spokesman. He could not be contacted.

The Dutch documents reveal intense diplomatic activity last year prompted by controversy over the handling of prisoners.

Official documents released in Canada late last year included accounts of abuses inflicted by secret police on prisoners captured by Canadian soldiers.

At the same time, Amnesty International said allied troops could be complicit in torture by handing prisoners to the NDS and putting them "at grave risk of torture and ill-treatment".

Amid the controversy, officials from nations with troops in Afghanistan, including Australia, met in London on December 10 to review the handling, transfer and monitoring of prisoners.

The agenda for the two-day meeting, included in the Dutch documents, said it was "crucial that implicated ISAF (International Security Assistance Force) countries share information regarding their current polices and practises on detainee transfers".

The meeting would discuss how countries handing over prisoners could be "satisfied of the willingness and ability" of Afghan authorities to adhere to international humanitarian law.


This story was found at: http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2008/05/03/1209235234218.html