Nato forces in Afghanistan have stopped sending prisoners to some Afghan jails after reports of torture and have asked Kabul to investigate allegations of abuse by members of a US-backed paramilitary police force.
The ban on transfers revives concerns about human rights in Afghan prisons, first raised in 2011 by a United Nations report. The report detailed widespread abuse, including the ripping out of detainees' toenails and the twisting of their genitals, and prompted Nato-led troops to halt prisoner transfers for several months.
Handovers resumed after inspections and training but a new report by the same UN office is expected to confirm there are still serious problems, a few months after torture concerns prompted Britain's defence minister to drop plans to transfer prisoners to Afghan jails.
The report's broad findings were detailed in an official email released last year by the Ministry of Defence as part of a court case challenging the UK moratorium on handovers. The report has been repeatedly delayed since last summer, when it was originally expected to be released.
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