Taleban Suspects Held in Dog Pen

September 2, 2008

Author: Nick Bryant

Source: BBC News

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7593434.stm

The Australian Defence Force has confirmed that its troops held four suspected Taleban militants in an empty dog pen for 24 hours.

The men were arrested in a raid by Australian special forces in Afghanistan in late April.

The arrests came two days after the death of an Australian commando at the hands of the Taleban.

In Islamic tradition, dogs are viewed as unclean and impure, and many Muslims try to avoid contact with them.

Muslim groups have expressed alarm that dog pens were used; the Islamic High Council said it infringed human rights.

The Australian Defence Force has claimed the prisoners were not maltreated, but it did find evidence of what it called "cultural misunderstandings" in the use of the pens.