Abdul Basir was a citizen of Afghanistan who died while in the custody of Afghanistan's intelligence service the National Directorate of Security (NDS).[1][2]
| Abdul Basir | |
|---|---|
| Born | Afghanistan |
| Arrested | 28 October 2009 NDS |
| Died | 7 December 2009 |
| Charge(s) | no charge |
| Status | died in custody, authorities claim his death was a suicide |
Basir, and three other family members, were apprehended on 28 October, on suspicion they had an association with the bombing of a Kabul guesthouse that housed foreigners.[1][2] Basir died on 7 December. Government officials claimed he had committed suicide by jumping out a window. But human rights workers assert that when his body was returned to his family it bore scars more consistent with torture than defenstration.[3] His family claimed that his brothers and father, who were still in custody, would face retaliation, if Basir's family arranged for an autopsy.
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edit- ^ a b Andrea J. Prasow (4 May 2010). "Andrea Prasow: Afghan torture is no secret". National Post. Archived from the original on 29 August 2010. Retrieved 29 August 2010.
This week, I will appear before the House of Commons' special committee on the Canadian mission in Afghanistan on behalf of Human Rights Watch. I will tell the committee about Abdul Basir's case, and how his family reported that NDS officials warned them against seeking an autopsy, especially if they wanted Basir's father and brother, also in NDS detention, to be released.
- ^ a b Brad Adams (21 December 2009). "Afghanistan: Investigate Death in Custody". firedoglake. Retrieved 29 August 2010.
On December 7, 2009, Abdul Basir died while in an NDS detention facility. Later that day the agency told family members that Basir committed suicide by throwing himself out of a window. On December 8 the authorities returned Basir's body to his family. Photographs obtained by Human Rights Watch show the deceased with small dark circles on his forehead, blackened cuts on his back, bruising in several places, and a large cut to his shin.
- ^ Jeff Kaye (20 January 2010). "Suicide or Murder: US Clandestine Services Play the Oldies". firedoglake. Archived from the original on 26 January 2010. Retrieved 29 August 2010.
Recently, Human Rights Watch has been publicizing the case of Afghan citizen Abdul Basir, who was tortured while in custody of Afghan security forces last Decemenber. His captors then threw him out a window and claim he died jumping in a suicide attempt, which is what his family was also told. But when the family received the body it had marks of torture all over it, and now HRW has posted pictures of the evidence on Basir's body.