Bagram Airfield - Detention Facility at The Base

Detention Facility At The Base

Bagram Airfield is the main detention facility for persons detained by US forces in Afghanistan. As of November 2011 more than 3,000 people are detained at Bagram, roughly 18 times as many as in Guantanamo Bay. The number increased 5-fold since President Barack Obama took office in January 2009. They are mostly held in a building deep in the heart of the installation. The detainees have included senior members of al-Qaeda and alleged al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters.

In July 2005, about 450 alleged militants and journalists were being detained there. Four suspected al-Qaeda militants escaped from Bagram detention center in the same month of 2005. Apart from US military and intelligence personnel, the only people officially allowed inside the prison building are Red Cross representatives who inspect the facility once every two weeks. The detainees have no access to any legal process.

The Parwan Detention Facility has been heavily criticized for alleged torture and prisoner abuse. In 2005, the New York Times reported that two detainees had been beaten to death by guards in December 2002. Amnesty International has used the word "torture" to describe treatment at the detention center.

Many of the officers and soldiers interviewed by U.S. Army investigators in the subsequent criminal investigation said the large majority of detainees at Bagram were compliant and reasonably well treated. However, some interrogators routinely administered harsh treatment which included alleged beatings, sleep deprivation, sexual humiliation, shackling to ceilings, and threats with guard dogs. Amnesty International has criticized the U.S. government for using dogs in this way at the detention center.