IV. TORTURE AND ARBITRARY ARRESTSMilitary, police, and Amniat forces in Herat have committed numerous cases of torture, beatings, and arbitrary arrests in addition to the politically motivated violence documented earlier in this report. Independent and credible sources with access to detainees, including UNAMA officials, confirmed that torture is commonplace at the Herat police station and Amniat compound, and offered reliable evidence of a larger pattern of torture and beatings by the forces under the control of Ismail Khan.212 In the Herat police station, special rooms have been set up to carry out torture. Electric shock is commonplace. Human Rights Watch heard testimony from witnesses and victims about the use of crank electrical generators with wires-a torture device that has been used in Afghanistan since the 1980s.213 The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has free access to all detainees at Herat detention facilities who fall under their protection, but cannot share its information with other organizations or agencies because of ICRC rules regarding confidentiality. Aside from the ICRC, no organization, including the U.N., has adequate access to the detention centers. Arrests, Torture, and Coerced Vows of Silence in March 2002
On or around the morning of March 19, a confrontation arose between the jewelers and some police at the bazaar. According to witnesses, approximately eight armed police troops arrived at the bazaar and went to the jewelers' shops. Other shopkeepers believed that the jewelers were about to be robbed or that money was going to be extorted from them. They started a commotion that drew the whole bazaar's attention.217 The shopkeepers and their staff gathered together in a group that numbered in the hundreds and overwhelmed and disarmed the police. The shopkeepers held some of the troops hostage and beat them severely.218 By late morning, police and Amniat officials arrived to negotiate with the shopkeepers. After some time, the police hostages were released. To defuse the situation, the police reached an agreement with the shopkeepers that no one would be arrested or charged or, as one person involved put it, "Everyone would go about their business."219 However, later that day police began rounding up jewelers from the bazaar-both those who had taken part in the protest and those who had not. By late afternoon, almost thirty jewelers and their employees, some of whom were children, were in custody at the Herat police station.220 As they arrived, police officers beat them. According to a victim, "The police force beat us a lot there, even the boys, who were about thirteen to sixteen years old. At that time, the head of the criminal branch was not there, but he came later and beat us himself."221 After the arrests, the chief of the criminal department of the police, Faiz Ahmed Fasel Azimi, entered the holding room. He instructed the guards to remove all the other prisoners-criminal detainees, former Taliban troops, and other prisoners who were already there-so that only the jewelers remained.222 Then, according to one witness:
The head of the Amniat office in Herat, Nasir Ahmed Alawi, also arrived at the jail. He reportedly tried to stop the detainees from being beaten, and instructed the police to release the minors and other detainees he specified. The minors were released, but Faiz Ahmed reportedly did not release any of the other detainees. Alawi left the jail soon after he arrived, and the violence continued.224 A Herati familiar with the makeup of the Herat government told Human Rights Watch that Alawi, who ostensibly outranks Faiz Ahmed, was in reality not able to command him because Faiz Ahmed is a close friend of Ismail Khan's son.225 According to one of the witnesses: "Faiz Ahmed is just a deputy, a second-in-charge, but everyone is afraid of him-even those above him-because he is the friend of Ismail Khan's son."226 The troops wanted the detainees to sign confessions about their "rebellion," specifying that they instigated it for another reason:
After Faiz Ahmed attacked the detainees, the police tied the detainees together in groups of five, using the turbans of the Taliban prisoners who had been in the room when the detainees first arrived. Then the police forced the groups to walk roughly 200 meters to another room in the police compound-a difficult feat when tied together facing in different directions. The guards continued to beat the detainees for not moving quickly enough.228 A witness described what happened next:
Another victim described what occurred when he was taken into the room:
In one of the rooms were two generators, which were cranked by hand to produce the electrical shock:
Human Rights Watch was told that Faiz Ahmed was present during the violence:
Regular Torture Sessions and Beatings at the Herat Police Station and Amniat Compound
One man who was detained at the police station in August 2002 told Human Rights Watch about two men who were tortured there:
The torture then passed to another level:
The man was taken from the holding room again a few days later, and tortured again:
The same witness also told Human Rights Watch that the other detainee who was taken on the first night, Behrooz, was tortured as well. He was brought back to the holding cell a short time before Arbab. He told the prisoners he had been whipped, but was unable to say anything else: "When they brought him back, he could hardly walk, but I didn't talk to him so much."238 Another source told Human Rights Watch about torture at the Amniat compound in Herat city:
The victim declined to speak with Human Rights Watch. A local humanitarian worker familiar with Herat prison told Human Rights Watch about several cases involving children accused of "vice crimes." The children were reportedly tortured by police troops at the station and then shown on Herat television:
One Herati official familiar with the situation at the jail said to a Human Rights Watch researcher: "Well, you were in Herat, and you know that whoever enters into the criminal branch will not be released without a severe punishment."241 Another source told Human Rights Watch about the regularity of torture in the Herat jail:
The witness said that it was difficult to learn more about the victims:
Another witness who was detained in the jail told Human Rights Watch that beatings in the holding room were common, and that sometimes the head of the police station entered the holding cell and beat prisoners himself.244 He described how the police beat one friend of his who had come to ask for his release: "When [my friend] came they arrested him as well. Some troops, they pulled him into the cell and started slapping him on the face over and over again. This one troop must have slapped him twenty-five times on the face, very hard."245 Another witness said that a police official would sometimes enter the holding room and just taunt the prisoners, and then choose individuals and instruct the guards to beat them.246 Abuses at Military Checkpoints, Bases, and Other Detention Sites
In mid-August 2002, a man was arrested and beaten because of a minor dispute between him and a district commander's son. The district commander's troops arrested him and invented charges to accuse him. According to a person familiar with the case:
Another man described witnessing a commander in Badghis, allied with Ismail Khan, kill a man who accused him of raping a young boy:
Residents of Ghor province told Human Rights Watch that during late August 2002 a commander under Ismail Khan, whom they called Abdul Sallam, attacked a rival commander in a village near Chaghcharan called Bara Khana, killed the commander, arrested several of his troops, tortured and then killed them.249 "The corpses were returned to the families," said one of the residents.250 The troops mutilated some of the detainees while torturing them: "When the families were given the corpses, they saw that the hands were cut off, eyes were pulled out, ears were cut, and then people understood that they had been tortured terribly in the prison."251 According to the residents, Abdul Sallam took the troops' families into custody, and intimidated them, shooting weapons close to them, yelling at them.252 "Their houses were looted as well."253 Abuses against Pashtuns
Another source told Human Rights Watch about beatings of Pashtuns at local military checkpoints:
A Pashtun shopkeeper told Human Rights Watch he had been arrested repeatedly for no apparent reason: "They arrested me for no reason-and released me for no reason. It is only to show that they have power. I have been arrested and released three times. The first time was four months ago. Everyone who is Pashtun or from Kandahar is being harassed."260 An incident occurred involving Human Rights Watch researchers that reinforced these findings. During an interview in a public area, troops came and attempted to arrest the interviewee-apparently because he was Pashtun. The interviewee and the Human Rights Watch researchers were taken to a military compound to answer questions, and then to the Herat office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA). The Human Rights Watch researchers were released after three hours, but the interviewee was detained overnight for questioning. One official explained the detention by saying, "He is a Pashtun, we have got to be suspicious." A senior Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) official told Human Rights Watch:
The interviewee was released the next day, unharmed, but only after Human Rights Watch expressed strong concerns about his case to the MFA, and visited a senior deputy's office repeatedly throughout the day. (The senior MFA official in Herat was unavailable for most of the later morning because he was meeting with a senior U.S. military liaison.) While detained, the interviewee was threatened with a future beating. 212 Human Rights Watch interview with a UNAMA official, Kabul, September 24, 2002; Human Rights Watch interview with a UNAMA official, Herat, September 17, 2002; Human Rights Watch interview with an NGO official familiar with detention sites in Herat, Kabul, September 28, 2002. 213 The use of electrical shock torture has a long history in Afghanistan. During the 1980's Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International published reports documenting electrical torture abuses. See e.g., Human Rights Watch, "Tears, Blood, and Cries: Human Rights in Afghanistan Since the Invasion 1979 to 1984," A Helsinki Watch and Asia Watch Report, 1984; Human Rights Watch, "To Die in Afghanistan," A Helsinki Watch and Asia Watch Report, 1985; see also, Amnesty International, Report 1985 (London: Amnesty International, 1985), p. 197; Amnesty International, Afghanistan: Torture of Political Prisoners (London: Amnesty International Publications, 1986), p. 21. Torture rooms and devices used by the Soviet-backed government were in turn used by successor governments. See Human Rights Watch, "Afghanistan: The Forgotten War," An Asia Watch Report, February 1991, p. 93. The 1985 Amnesty International report details the use of electrical shock by the Soviet-backed government agents as early as 1982. It is possible that both torture rooms and electrical generators were first used by Soviet government forces and have remained at the disposal of subsequent government forces, including the Taliban and the first government of Ismail Khan during 1992-95. 214 Shi'a Muslims make up a large portion of the Herat population. Because of lack of accurate census information, it is not known whether they are in the majority or minority. 215 Human Rights Watch interview with S.A.A. and H.A.Z., Herat, September 15, 2002; Human Rights Watch interview with UNAMA Herat official, Kabul, September 24, 2002. 216 Human Rights Watch interview with S.A.A. and S.Q., Herat, September 15, 2002. 217 Human Rights Watch interview with S.A.A., Herat, September 15, 2002. Shopkeepers in Herat are keenly attuned to how extortion and looting occur, and how to avoid high losses. A shopkeeper explained to Human Rights Watch: "One thing is, the troops cannot face a dishonor of stealing in front of so many people. But they will if they feel like it.... We keep most of the inventory in separate places. In this way, we avoid total looting." Human Rights Watch interview with a shopkeeper, Herat, September 15, 2002. 218 Human Rights Watch interview with S.A.A., Herat, September 15, 2002. 219 Ibid. 220 Ibid. 221 Human Rights Watch interview with A.S., Herat, September 20, 2002. 222 Human Rights Watch interview with S.A.A., September 15, 2002; Human Rights Watch interview with A.S., Herat, September 20, 2002. 223 Human Rights Watch interview with S.A.A., Herat, September 15, 2002. 224 Human Rights Watch interview with A.S., Herat, September 20, 2002. 225 Human Rights Watch interview with M.Z.Z., Kabul, September 29, 2002. 226 Human Rights Watch interview with S.A.A., Herat, September 15, 2002. 227 Ibid. 228 Ibid. 229 Ibid. 230 Human Rights Watch interview with A.S., Herat, September 20, 2002. 231 Human Rights Watch interview with S.A.A., Herat, September 15, 2002. 232 Ibid. 233 These sources included detainees, persons familiar with the Herat court, persons familiar with the Herat government, medical staff, U.N. staff and officials, and NGO officials. 234 The names of the victims and identifying details have been changed or omitted for security reasons. 235 Human Rights Watch interview with A.H.U., Herat, September 15, 2002. 236 Ibid. 237 Ibid. 238 Ibid. 239 Human Rights Watch interview H.H.G., Herat, September 16, 2002. 240 Human Rights Watch interview with F.J., Herat, September 17, 2002. 241 Human Rights Watch telephone interview with L.H., October 11, 2002. 242 Human Rights Watch interview with F.J., Herat, September 17, 2002. 243 Ibid. 244 Human Rights Watch interview with Q.P., a Pashtun shopkeeper, Herat, September 11, 2002. 245 Ibid. 246 Human Rights Watch interview with G.A., Herat, September 15, 2002. 247 Human Rights Watch interview with F.J., Herat, September 17, 2002. 248 Human Rights Watch interview with F.I., Herat, September 17, 2002. 249 Human Rights Watch interview with residents of Ghor province, Kabul, October 6 and 7, 2002. Human Rights Watch also received a written message from eyewitnesses in late September detailing these allegations. Letter from eyewitnesses to Human Rights Watch, October 2002 (on file with Human Rights Watch). 250 Human Rights Watch interview with a resident of Ghor province, Kabul, October 7, 2002. 251 Ibid. 252 Human Rights Watch interview with residents of Ghor province, Kabul, October 6 and 7, 2002; Letter from eyewitnesses to Human Rights Watch, October 2002 (on file with Human Rights Watch). 253 Human Rights Watch interview with a resident of Ghor province, Kabul, October 7, 2002. 254 Human Rights Watch interview with a NGO official familiar with the security situation in Herat, Herat, September 11, 2002; Human Rights Watch interview with UNAMA staff, Herat, September 17, 2002; Human Rights Watch interview with W.A., Herat, September 11, 2002; Human Rights Watch interview with H.S., Herat, September 12, 2002. 255 Human Rights Watch interview with A.A., Herat, September 12, 2002. 256 Ibid. 257 Ibid. 258 The Afghan currency referred to here is the "old afghani," which at the time of this interview was trading at approximately 51,000 Af. to U.S.$1.00. New afghani banknotes were issued in early October: 1 new afghani equals 1,000 old afghanis. A "lakh" is a unit of 100,000. 259 Human Rights Watch interview with H.H.G., Herat, September 16, 2002. 260 Human Rights Watch interview with Q.P., a Pashtun shopkeeper, Herat, September 11, 2002. 261 Human Rights Watch exchange with Deputy of Political Affairs in Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Herat, September 17, 2002. |