NATO has temporarily halted the transfer of detainees to a number of Afghan jails after allegations of abuse in an upcoming UN report, officials said Wednesday.
"With appropriate caution, ISAF (International Security Assistance Force) has taken measures to suspend detainees' transfer to certain facilities until we can verify the pending UNAMA (United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan) report," a NATO official said.
The unreleased report deals with prisons run by the Ministry of Justice and detention facilities managed by the National Directorate of Security (NDS), Afghanistan's intelligence agency, DPA reported.
"The report is understood to outline how prisoners are routinely beaten, given electric shocks and subjected to other human rights violations, some within private jails run by police commanders," Britain's Guardian newspaper reported.
Nilab Mobarez, a UNAMA spokeswoman, said the UNAMA was finalizing the report on the mistreatment of detainees.
"We have shared the report's findings with the government of Afghanistan, including the NDS," Mobarez said.
"We understand that they are taking the findings very seriously and are proposing to take a series of immediate actions."
Mobarez said the findings suggest that mistreatment of detainees was not an institutional or government policy.
An official with the international forces said they are aware of abuse reports and will investigate before taking any concrete decision.
"We have met with Afghan authorities regarding the matter," the official said, without discussing the specifics of the report.
Thousands of suspected Taliban are detained by Afghan and international forces each year. Those captured by international forces are mostly turned over to Afghan authorities for further investigation.
Human rights activists have repeatedly condemned the abuse and appalling conditions of Afghan prisons.