Team appointed to probe inmate torture

KABUL): President Hamid Karzai on Tuesday appointed a delegation to investigate alleged torture of inmates at detention centres across the country, his office said.

Led by Abdul Qadir Adalat Khwah, deputy head of the Independent Commission on Overseeing the Implementation of the Constitution has been appointed as chief investigators.

The probe team is comprised of representatives from Ministry of Interior, Presidential Palace, National Directorate of Security and Political Science Faculty of the Kabul University.

A statement from the Presidential Palace said the team, along with UNAMA representatives, would probe inmate abuse. The delegation would identify perpetrators and report its findings to the president within two weeks.

The United Nations Mission in Afghanistan, calling prisoner abuse a serious concern, on Sunday alleged that rampant torture persisted in numerous Afghan-run detention facilities.

The UNAMA assessment was based on interviews with 635 conflict-related detainees held by Afghan police, intelligence, army and local police during visits to 89 detention centres in 30 provinces.

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