Red Cross confirms 'secret' Afghan prison facility

A separate facility for detainees exists at the US airbase prison in Bagram, Afghanistan, the International Red Cross has confirmed.

In response to a question from the BBC, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has confirmed the US maintains a detainee facility distinct from its main prison at Bagram Air Base. The ICRC states since August 2009 US authorities have been notifying it of names of detainees held at a separate Bagram facility. The BBC also says it has logged testimonies of nine former prisoners who state they were held in a separate building and subjected to abuse. Their stories of abuse are consistent and refer to cold cells and lighting left on all day and night. They also reported sleep deprivation as part of their abuse by US military personnel at the facility. Many former prisoners have referred to the facility as the "Tor Jail" which translates into the "black jail". Accordingly, the US military says the Detention Facility in Parwan is the only detention facility at the base. It says it will look into the abuse allegations referred to in the BBC report. Vice Admiral Robert Harward, a former Navy SEAL captain, now in charge of US detainees in Afghanistan, denies the existence of the facility or the reported abuses.