According to Afghan President Hamid Karzai, an investigation panel has uncovered multiple illegal detention centers being operated by the US and British militaries at their bases in Afghanistan.
The panel found the British military is still holding 23 detainees at their sites, in Kandahar and Helmand Provinces, despite a deal in place to transfer all detainees to Afghan custody.
Officially, British troops are supposed to only be allowed to detain people for up to 96 hours, then hand them over to the government. They are allowed to miss the 96 hours only under “exceptional circumstances,” and it seems the military is interpreting that as permission for open-ended detentions in some cases.
The US bases didn’t have any current detainees in any of the detention centers, but the panel ruled the US was obliged to shutter the facilities and had not done so, apparently keeping them open just in case.