The 16-page report by the Open Society Foundation said on Friday that Afghans call the secret site “Tor Jail,” or “Black Jail,” and that consistent accounts from detainees refer to being kept without adequate shelter or food or other basic rights.
The Pentagon quickly rejected abuses, but said it was looking into the allegations.
“The Department of Defense does not operate any ‘secret prisons,'” a spokesman said.
However, the spokesman said officials had “received the report from (Open Society) and are reviewing it.”
“Detainees state that they were held in excessively cold isolation cells; supplied inappropriate or inadequate food, bedding, and blanketing; denied exposure to natural light; unable to carry out their religious duties; restricted from exercise; and kept from meeting with the International Committee of the Red Cross,” Open Society said.
It said that some detainees said they have been held there as recently as this year.
“The allegations about Tor Jail should be taken seriously by the Obama administration, which has sought to reform detention practices in Afghanistan,” said Jonathan Horowitz, author of the report.
The US military has been under the scrutiny of rights groups for years after revelations of abuse at prisons in Iraq and at CIA “black sites,” and in the light of controversy over the military facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Source: AlAlam News