UN: Torture by Government ‘Widespread’ in Afghanistan

Since the US invasion and occupation of Afghanistan in 2001, torture has been an ongoing problem, with both the occupation forces, and in particular the allied Afghan security forces, routinely abusing detainees captured in “conflict-related” circumstances.

The UN has issued a new report warning that the problem of torture among security forces is “as widespread as ever,” noting that at least 39 percent of detainees interviewed by the UN gave credible testimony of having been tortured by Afghan police, troops, or intelligence officials.

This is up from 35% reporting torture during the last UN report, in 2015. They also noted that despite repeated assurances by the Afghan government that torture won’t be tolerated, there is a near total lack of accountability for those torturing detainees in the country.

Torture was most common among the Afghan Local Police, the quasi-governmental force that is heavily backed by the US, and across rural Afghanistan often boils down to little more than warlord factions with government funding and legal immunity.