Britain 'handing suspects to Afghan torturers'

Previously banned from general publication, the information was disclosed at the High Court on the second day of a legal challenge by anti-war activist Maya Evans, from St Leonards, East Sussex.

Ms Evans is seeking a ruling that handing over detainees to the Afghan authorities is unlawful and violates human rights.

Lawyers for Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth deny that the detainees routinely suffer torture and say robust safeguards are in place.

Public Interest Lawyers (PIL), who are representing Ms Evans, say the new information made public at London's High Court yesterday is part of a "dreadful and continuing story".

Its dossiers allegedly show a suspects handed over to the National Directorate of Security (NDS) in Afghanistan were badly abused.

A man referred to as "Prisoner A" says he was "beaten every other day for two-and-a-half months whilst hung from the ceiling, often with a thin stick". The person who beat him with the stick was allegedly "a high-level NDS official".

Prisoner A claims that other detainees, including a friend, were also beaten regularly.

Prisoner B made an allegation of mistreatment while being held in NDS Dept 17, which involved being put in stress positions and subjected to sleep deprivation.

PLS lawyers comment in the papers: "Prisoner B has never been seen again."

Prisoner C alleged being beaten and electrocuted on his fingers, toes and the soles of his feet by six men wearing black dress while hung from the ceiling in Dept 17 in 2008.

Prisoner D claimed to have been beaten in NDS Kandahar, twice with the butt of a rifle, and at NDS Dept 17. He also said he had been

electrocuted four or five times while blindfolded.

Prisoner E said he had been beaten with weapons and sticks and an

attempt was made to cut his wrists while being transferred to NDS Kabul. He had corroborating scars on his wrists and head.

Prisoner E had also stated that a fellow prisoner had been raped by an NDS chief.

In 2007, he was at an NDS centre where he was allegedly beaten every night, including with a thin rubber cable with wires bound together, by a high-ranking NDS official.

The documents before the court allege: "The beatings were severe. On each occasion he was struck from 50 to 100 times."

Prisoner G, located and interviewed for the first time in November 2009, claimed to have been beaten with steel rods on his back and legs for six consecutive nights.

PIL comments in the dossier: "It is astonishing that on September 25 2009, after Prisoners A-E had all made allegations of torture and abuse, it was still the Foreign Office line that, 'there is no evidence to suggest that any individuals transferred from UK to Afghan custody have been tortured or mistreated."'

In court, Michael Fordham QC, appearing for Ms Evans, argued that the UK detainee transfers to the NDS violated Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which protects against inhuman and degrading treatment. He said the detainees had suffered "very serious harm".

The hearing continues.