BRIEFING: Bagram Airbase Prison

1)  The evolution of the use of Bagram as a prison in the war on terror;

2)  Control of the prison

3)  Numbers of prisoners

4)  Physical conditions in the prison

5)  Treatment of prisoners

6)  Specific allegations relating to named individuals

7)  Rights afforded to Bagram prisoners

8)  Official objections to conditions at Bagram

9)  A timeline of early reports of detention conditions in Afghanistan.

Reports exist of three prisons in Bagram airbase: the main prison, operated by US Army Military Police units; a prison operated by US Special Operations forces; and detention facilities operated by the CIA.[1] This report only concerns the main US Army prison.

1. Evolution of Bagram as a prison facility in the War on Terror

2001-2003: Establishment of detention and rendition center

The first official announcement of detentions at Bagram was on January 8, 2002, when the US government announced that 38 detainees were being held at “Bagram Collection Point”. At this point, the primary site for detentions in Afghanistan was at Kandahar, while Bagram was only a “temporary collection center.” Nevertheless, Bagram was already receiving individuals brought in from sites outside of Afghanistan, such as at least one prisoner taken to Bagram from aboard the USS Bataan as of January 8, 2002. At that time, prisoners from nine states were present at Bagram. The justification for rendering prisoners to Bagram was to take advantage of interrogation capacities that were available there but were not available at Kandahar or on the Bataan.[2]

In May 2002, Bagram was redesignated from a “temporary collection center” to a “primary collection and interrogation point,”[3] replacing Kandahar as the principal site for prisoner detention in Afghanistan. Prisoners were brought to Bagram from as far away as central Africa and Southeast Asia, in addition to “scores” of detainees who were brought there from Pakistan. Many were delivered there after being held at secret C.I.A. prisons around the world, according to American officials and former prisoners. Some detainees were taken from Bagram by C.I.A. teams and rendered to intelligence services in countries around the Middle East and elsewhere.[4] To the extent that Bagram was both receiving prisoners and sending prisoners to other sites, it effectively became not merely a detention “center”, but rather a “hub” of the US government’s global detention and rendition practices.

2004-2006: Bagram becomes central hub in global detention network

In 2004, following the Supreme Court’s ruling in Rasul v Bush, and in response to the increased visibility of activities in Guantanamo, the US government stopped receiving prisoners at Guantanamo Bay. On the other hand, the number of prisoners at Bagram started to escalate from approximately 100 at the beginning of 2004 to 500 in mid-2005.[5] An internal DOD report cited among the advantages of Bagram prison that it permits indefinite detention of prisoners.[6] Although never formally announced as such, the increasing numbers of renditions to Bagram, the movement of prisoners from Guantanamo to Bagram, and the practice of using Bagram prison as a site of indefinite detention show that following 2004 Bagram replaced Gautanamo as the principal hub in the US government’s global detention network.

In 2005, the prison was renamed from the “Bagram Collection Point” to the “Bagram Theater Internment Facility.”

Starting in 2005, Afghan prisoners were released from Bagram under the Takhim-e-Solh, ("Strengthening Peace") program overseen by the Afghanistan Reconciliation Commission.[7] At least 492 prisoners were released in 2005 and 2006 through this mechanism.

2007-present: Permanent detention facilities and linkage with Afghan government prisons

In August 2005, the Afghan and U.S. governments entered into a bilateral agreement through an exchange of diplomatic notes that established conditions for the transfer of Afghan detainees in United States custody to the Afghan government. The 2005 Notes have not been disclosed publicly.[8] The agreement included a commitment from the US to rehabilitate an Afghan-run prison complex at Pul-i-Charki, to which Afghan prisoners at Bagram would be transferred. The renovation of this facility, called “Block D” of Pul-i-Charki prison, was completed in 2007.

The US government then began transferring some Afghan prisoners to the control of the Afghan government in Block D. In 2007 and 2008, over 500 Afghans were transferred from Bagram to Block D. The Afghan government released many prisoners based on consultations with the Afghanistan Reconciliation Committee and on hearings conducted with limited due process. The US government has not given the Afghan government jurisdiction over all Afghans, however, as it only transfers some of its Afghan prison population to the control of the Afghan government. Moreover, some reports state that the US government remains effectively in control of the Afghan prison at Pul-i-Charki.[9]

Construction of a new 40-acre detention complex at Bagram airbase began in 2008 and was still underway as of March 2009.[10] The new facility would be located apart from other buildings in the military base, and is designed to hold 1,100 prisoners. Primary detainee facilities include low and high risk detainee units with catwalk, dining area, medical facilities, multipurpose facilities, recreation yards, warehouse, laundry facilities, miscellaneous office spaces, and a visitors’ center. Primary guard facilities include administrative offices, towers, life support, armory, entry control, fencing, and lighting. Supporting facilities include electrical, utilities, mechanical systems, communications infrastructure, pavement, roads, drainage, anti-terrorism measures, information system, and other necessary support.[11]

2. Control of the prison

The Bagram prison falls under the following chain of command: US Department of Defence Central Command, US Forces-Afghanistan (USFOR-A), Combined Joint Task Force-101, Task Force Guardian. Task Force Guardian is the element in charge of all Military Police activities in Afghanistan, and is also the Commander of Detention Operations in Afghanistan. As of January 15, the commander of Task Force Guardian was Col. Joe Ethridge.[12] The detention activities are under the exclusive control of American military forces, not the NATO-run International Security Assistance Force.[13]

The use of Bagram Air Base by American military forces is governed by a lease between the Ministry of Defence and the Department of the Army signed in 2006.[14] The lease does not specify which activities are authorized on the property. The activities of the US military in Afghanistan are governed by a 2002 “Diplomatic Note.” (There is no Status Forces Agreement between the US and Afghanistan.) The Diplomatic Note asserts that American officials have a status “equivalent to diplomatic immunity.”[15] It does not specifically refer to detention activities. The US government has argued in court proceedings that the Diplomatic Note provides a legal framework for US activities in Afghanistan equivalent to that of a Status of Forces Agreement, however this has been contradicted by both American and Afghan officials.[16]

American policy in Afghanistan is also covered by a 2005 “United States-Afghanistan Strategic Partnership” agreement. The Strategic Partnership agreement itself has not been disclosed, it is only described in a US Embassy press release. The press release does not mention US authority to detain anyone,but is presumably encompassed in sweeping language that authorizes actions related to the War on Terrorism: “the U.S. and Coalition Forces are to continue to have the freedom of action required to conduct appropriate military operations.” It does mention detention practices on the part of the Afghan government, however: "As Afghan Government capabilities increase . . . the Afghan Government intends to maintain capabilities for the detention, as appropriate, of persons apprehended in the War on Terror."[17]

3. Numbers of prisoners

The total number of prisoners who have been held at Bagram since 2002 has been estimated at “more than 2,000,”[18] however this figure is neither precise nor reliable. There are three reasons for this. One is that there is a constant flow of prisoners in and out of the facility. There is movement to and from other prison sides around the world. There are new arrivals from military operations in Afghanistan. In 2005 and 2006, at least 462 prisoners were released from Bagram to the public[19], and from 2007 to 2009 over 500 prisoners have been transferred from Bagram to the Afghanistan government’s Central Prison at Pukl-i Charki.[20]

The second reason is that no named list of prisoners has ever been provided, so it is impossible to track individual prisoners. The third reason is that the US government has never provided an exact population figure, only occasional statements of approximate figures. A January 15 filing by the government in response to a court order maintained that the exact prison population is classified.[21] The most recent approximate estimate was 670.[22] Most press reports cite the population as over 600.

As a result, nobody knows exactly who is at the prison, nor can it be confirmed whether missing persons might be located within it. Bagram remains a home of “ghost detainees,” a site where people can be disappeared without anyone knowing that they are there.

It is known that the population at the prison has increased from approximately 100 at the beginning of 2004 to approximately 500 by mid-2005[23] and to approximately 670 by January 2009.[24] Although the capacity of the prison is reported to by 595[25], an internal DOD report had already found the prison to be overcrowded in June 2004,[26] at a time when the prison population was reported to be “some 300”.[27]

It has been reported that 30 of the prisoners at Bagram are non-Afghans.[28]

4. Physical conditions within the prison

2002-2003

Prisoner cells were built within a cavernous hangar in the center of Bagram air base. The cells consisted of crude pens fashioned from metal cages surrounded by coils of razor wire. There were five large wire pens and a half dozen plywood isolation cells.[29] There were about 20 people in each cage,[30] sleeping on the floor on foam mats and using plastic buckets for toilets. They rarely saw daylight.[31] Some cages were as small as approximately 1m x 2m.[32] Catwalks constructed above the cages permit guards to monitor the prisoners at all times from all angles.[33] Military personnel who know both Bagram and Guantánamo describe the Afghan site as “far more spartan.”[34]

The conditions in Bagram were confirmed by two internal DOD reports in 2004 that, while understated, confirmed the unacceptable level of conditions in Bagram. The protection from the cold was “not acceptable during winter,”[35] the prison was “overcrowded”[36], and the prison “did not comply with [standards relating to] medical treatment or with sanitary conditions.”[37]

2004-present

Faced with serious overcrowding in 2004, the military initially built some temporary prison quarters and began refurbishing the main prison building at Bagram. Corrals surrounded by stacked razor wire that had served as general-population cells were replaced with wire pens that generally hold no more than 15 detainees. The cut-off metal drums used as toilets were replaced with flush toilets[38] and some privacy screens were put in place.[39] As of 2005, Bagram had a maximum capacity of 595 prisoners, according do the US Army.[40] Former detainees said the renovations had improved conditions somewhat.[41]

The basic infrastructure remains the same, however. As of 2008, hundreds of Afghans and other men were still held in wire-mesh pens surrounded by coils of razor wire. There are only minimal areas for the prisoners to exercise, and kitchen, shower and bathroom space is also inadequate.[42]

New prison

In August 2008, the US government awarded a $50 million contract for the construction of a new prison complex at the Bagram airbase.[43] The prison will occupy 40 acres on the edge of the airbase,[44] and will consist of a complex of 6 to 10 semi-permanent structures resembling Quonset huts, each the size of a football field. The structures will have more natural light, and each will have its own recreation area. There will be a half-dozen other buildings for administration, medical care and other purposes.[45] The prison will have capacity to hold 1,100 prisoners. Classrooms will be built for vocational training and religious discussion, and there will be more space for recreation and family visits.[46] The new prison is currently under construction.

5. Treatment of prisoners

Prisoners at Bagram have experienced years of abuse and murder at the hands of American soldiers. Conditions described in 2002 and 2003 are among the worst that have been reported during the US government’s War on Terror. The following methods of torture and mistreatment have been reported (see the section below for additional information relating to named prisoners):

·  Prisoners are goggled, shackled, [47] shaved, [48] hooded, [49] chained to their pens, and forbidden from looking at each other or talking to each other. [50] Prisoners are shackled continuously, even when sleeping. [51]

·  Humiliation. Groups of prisoners are held in a cell for several weeks, stripped to their undershirts and underwear. [52] “In sworn statements to Army investigators soldiers describe one female interrogator with a taste for humiliation stepping on the neck of one prostrate detainee and kicking another in the genitals. They tell of a shackled prisoner being forced to roll back and forth on the floor of a cell, kissing the boots of his two interrogators as he went. Yet another prisoner is made to pick plastic bottle caps out of a drum mixed with excrement and water as part of a strategy to soften him up for questioning.”[53] Prisoners receive humiliating taunts from women soldiers[54], they are stripped naked[55], and pinned down to the floor by guards on chairs.[56]

·  Sleep deprivation. Bright lights were set up outside their cells, shining in, and U.S. military personnel took shifts, keeping the detainees awake by banging on the metal walls of their cells with batons. The detainees said they were terrified and disoriented by sleep deprivation, which they said lasted for several weeks. During interrogations, they said, they were made to stand upright for lengthy periods of time with a bright spotlight shining directly into their eyes. They were told that they would not be questioned until they remained motionless for one hour, and that they were not entitled even to turn their heads.[57]

·  Administration of physical pain. Prisoners were painfully shackled in standing positions, naked, for weeks at a time, forcibly deprived of sleep and occasionally beaten. [58] Prisoners considered important or troublesome were also handcuffed and chained to the ceilings and doors of their cells, sometimes for long periods, an action Army prosecutors classified as criminal assault.[59] Detainees are taken, in shackles, and made to hold their arms over their heads; their shackles are then draped over the top of a door, so that they can not lower their arms. They are ordered to stand with their hands up, in this manner, for two-hour intervals.[60] Prisoners are sometimes kept standing or kneeling for hours in black hoods or spray-painted goggles, and held in awkward, painful positions.[61] [62]