US gets stick for Afghan human rights violation

A Human rights group on Sunday accused US forces in Afghanistan of detaining at least 1,000 Afghans and other people over the past two years in ‘‘a climate of almost total impunity’’ that it contends violates human rights law. In a 60-page report issued on Sunday, Human Rights Watch also called on the US military to release the results of investigations into the deaths of three Afghans in US custody in 2002 and 2003. Initial military medical investigators declared two of the deaths homicides.

The report also said it had received ‘‘numerous reports’’ of US forces relying on faulty intelligence or using ‘‘excessive or indiscriminate force’’ that resulted in avoidable civilian deaths and the detention of innocent people. It contended that the US was employing techniques that the US State Department had condemned as torture in countries like Libya, North Korea and Iran. ‘‘There is little doubt that US policies on the detention of terrorism suspects both in Afghanistan and elsewhere have harmed public opinion of the US around the world,’’ the report said.

Lt. Col. Bryan Hilferty, a spokesman for the US-led coalition in Afghanistan, said US forces were acting properly. He said the procedures used at Bagram Air Base just north of Kabul had been changed. ‘‘We are in complete compliance with the laws of combat,’’ he said.

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Meanwhile, senior US officials have disclosed the cases against four British terror suspects held at Guantanamo Bay to counter pressure from London for their release, The Daily Telegraph said on Monday.

The report comes as Britain’s Home Secretary David Blunkett promised to take up the issue with US President George W. Bush’s administration during a trip to the US this week.