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| China releases US human rights record in 2002 （20） |
| CCTV.COM 2003-04-03 16:04:04 |
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The rights and interests of prisoners of war （POWs） were also violated. According to CNN （Cable News Network）, a total of 12,000 Taliban fighters were reported to have been captured since the U.S.launched its military action in Afghanistan, but only 3,500 to 4,000 of them survived. It was found that these POWs were locked into unventilated steel shipping containers after their capture, and many of them died of sweltering heat, suffocation or extreme thirst en route to the prison. Numerous mass graves in which the bodies of the dead POWs were dumped have been found in Afghanistan.
There are also evidence of U.S. troops' involvement in the shipping of the POWs. In November 2001, some 1,000 Taliban and Al－Qaeda fighters who had surrendered in the northern Afghan city of Konduz died on their way to the prison after they were packed tightly into unventilated container trucks （Washington, Aug. 18, 2002, AFP）.
According to media reports, in 2002 the United States was holding more than 600 detainees from 42 countries, mostly captured during the Afghan war, in its military base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. However, the detainees were denied "prisoner of war" status by the U.S. government and therefore faced uncertainty of their futures.
It was unclear for how long they would remain in custody or what kind of treatment they would receive. These detainees were allegedly confined for 24 hours a day to small cells and were not allowed to meet their families or lawyers. Former Al－Qaeda members were also subject to torture or other forms of maltreatment. （more）
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Editor: Wang Yin Source:Xinhua
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