Amnesty International has received reports of torture, other ill-treatment, and
arbitrary detention by Afghanistan’s intelligence service, the National Directorate of
Security (NDS). Detainees are transferred from international forces operating in
Afghanistan as part of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) to Afghan
authorities. By transferring individuals to a situation where there is a grave risk of
torture and other-ill treatment, ISAF states may be complicit in this treatment, and are
breaching their international legal obligations.
This report builds on research by Amnesty International into Afghanistan’s justice
system and focuses on ISAF detention and transfer policies. It does not cover the
US-led Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) detention system. Amnesty International
has already highlighted its concerns regarding US detention policy in Afghanistan
and will continue to do so. It has also raised concerns about failures by all parties to
the conflict to meet their international obligations – including international military
forces, the Afghan Government and armed groups such as the Taleban.