Probe finds evidence of US war crimes in Afghanistan

THE HAGUE, Netherlands — U.S. armed forces and the CIA may have committed war crimes by torturing detainees in Afghanistan, the International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor said in a report Monday, raising the possibility that American citizens could be indicted even though Washington has not joined the global court.

“Members of U.S. armed forces appear to have subjected at least 61 detained persons to torture, cruel treatment, outrages upon personal dignity on the territory of Afghanistan between 1 May 2003 and 31 December 2014,” according to the report issued by Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda’s office.

Established in 2002, the International Criminal Court is the world’s first permanent court set up to prosecute war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.

The abuse allegations came in a wide-ranging annual report into the prosecution office’s so-called preliminary examinations, which involve studying reports of possible crimes to establish if they fall under the court’s jurisdiction.