Red Cross criticizes U.S. military prison in Afghanistan

Jakob Kellenberger, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), gave a vocal and pointed criticism of the United States military’s handling of detainees in the Bagram military base in Afghanistan, The Associated Press reported Tuesday.

Kellenberger urged the U.S. to reform its policies. He said that many of 600 or more detainees at the base did not even know why they were being held. Kellenberger had just completed a one-week visit to Afghanistan, during which he spent a day at the highly secretive prison.

Red Cross chief spokesman Florian Westphal commented on Kellenberger’s remarks within a wider context. "We’ve talked about the absence of a clear legal framework and of sufficient procedural safeguards with regard to Guantanamo, in particular, as we have done for Bagram."

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