KABUL, Dec 13 (AFP) - A human rights group Monday called on US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to investigate "newly uncovered" deaths in custody in Afghanistan.
In an open letter to Rumsfeld, Human Rights Watch said the "newly uncovered cases highlight the governments continuing failure to establish accountability for abuses".
"It's time for the United States to come clean about crimes committed by US forces in Afghanistan," said Brad Adams, Asia division director for Human Rights Watch.
"The United States has to get serious about prosecuting people implicated in prisoner deaths and mistreatment," he added.
Three cases were highlighted by Human Rights Watch, including the death of Sher Mohammad Khan who was arrested September 24 during a raid on his familys home near Khost and died later the next day at a US military base. That case has already been reported.
But the rights watchdog identified two previously unreported deaths, which it said took the toll of detainees known to have died in US custody in Afghanistan to six, including four cases of alleged murder or manslaughter.
One case, uncovered in September by researchers with the Crimes of War project but which occurred in March 2003, involved Jamal Naseer, a soldier in the US-backed official Afghan Army, it said.
Naseer was allegedly killed after he and seven other soldiers were mistakenly arrested by US forces and then taken to a base in Gardez and tortured.
The rights group said there was also evidence that a detainee was allegedly murdered by four US military personnel in or before September 2002 -- thought to be the earliest known death of a detainee in US custody in Afghanistan.
The United States has announced only a handful of criminal investigations into abuses and deaths in Afghanistan, and has publicly charged only two people with any crime.
"The US government is dragging its feet on these investigations," said Adams.
12/13/2004 16:34 GMT - AFP