Afghans in Secret Jail ‘Made to Dance’ to Use Bathroom; Deprived of Sleep

Source: The Raw Story

The US military is operating a "secret jail" at an Afghan airbase where prisoners are deprived of sleep and "made to dance" by US troops whenever they want to use the toilet, a BBC report states.

The BBC interviewed nine people who say they were held at the facility, known as the "black hole," at the site of the Bagram air base. The prison appears to be separate from the main Bagram prison, which the US established after the 2001 invasion and which continues to be the target of human rights complaints.

A man identified only as "Mirwais" who says he spent 24 days at the facility told the BBC that prisoners are routinely subjected to sleep deprivation.

"I could not sleep, nobody could sleep because there was a machine that was making noise," said Mirwais. "There was a small camera in my cell, and if you were sleeping they'd come in and disturb you."

"Mirwais said he was made to dance to music by American soldiers every time he wanted to use the toilet," the BBC reports.

Witnesses said the lights were kept on in their cells at all times; that the Red Cross had no access to the facility; and most had been beaten by US troops before they were brought there. The BBC report does not address under what circumstances the witnesses found themselves there, or whether any of them were insurgents.

This is not the first time that allegations have been made of a secret facility at Bagram. Last November, Raw Story reported on claims of a secret site at Bagram that was still in operation as of late last year, apparently in contravention of President Obama's order, upon taking office, to shut down the CIA's "black sites" around the world.

Three people claiming to be former inmates of the facility told the New York Times "of being held for months after the intensive interrogations were over without being told why. One detainee said he remained at the Bagram prison complex for two years and four months; another was held for 10 months total."

The secret site appears to be separate from the main prison facility at Bagram, which itself has been the target of complaints from human rights activists. Unlike the Guantanamo Bay facility, prisoners at Bagram aren't given access to lawyers.

"To this date, no prisoner has ever seen a lawyer in Bagram," lawyer Tina Foster told the BBC.

more: http://rawstory.com/rs/2010/0415/afghans-abused-secret-jail-bagram/

A small price to pay so that Americans can live free.

By torturing the people that hate us for our freedom, we are actually moving in the right direction.

This is not the way to behave.

Indefinite detentions, harsh conditions, no access to an attorney.

Anybody who reads DU KNOWS that Obama has stopped torture.


IT is right there near the TOP of the Cut & Paste list of "Obama's Accomplishments" that gets posted at DU too regularly.
Right next to the "Saved the World by Bailing Out the Wall Street Bankers" (or something to that effect).

and these threads are completely devoid of those aforementioned posters. prolly too busy compiling compelling photos of michelle's trip to sunny san diego.

:mad:

We used to say, "As American as apple pie." We might as well get with the program.....As American as a Black Site.

not what i voted for.