The report said that 13 foreign nationals had been interned without charge in “inhuman and degrading conditions” in high-security prisons under the Home Secretary’s Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act.It highlighted the case of Lotfi Raissi, an Algerian held in the UK for five months for extradition to America. The judge ruled that there was no evidence to support the extradition claim and rejected the case Mr Raissi was freed. It also pointed to a European Court of Human Rights ruling in May, 2002, that the UK had violated the right to life of Dermot McShane, who was crushed by an army vehicle in Northern Ireland in 1996, by failing to ensure an effective investigation into his death.Amnesty warned that the failure of the US and Britain to tackle the mounting problems in post-Saddam Iraq was likely to replicate the situation in Afghanistan, where human rights abuses were officially sanctioned. “There is a very real risk Iraq will go the way of Afghanistan if no genuine effort is made to heed the call of the Iraqi people for law and order and full respect of human rights. Afghanistan does not present a record of which the international community can be proud,” the report said.Magda Wendorft, Amnesty’s representative in Afghanistan, on a video-link from outside Bagram air base, north-east of Kabul, spoke of two prisoners who had died at the base under US interrogation.

The Americans had refused to give Amnesty access to Bagram or Guantanamo Bay. Ms Wendorft said: “Bagram stands as an indictment of the US and all other countries which refuse to condemn its existence. Afghan-istan has been overshadowed by Iraq and Bagram overshadowed by Guantanamo Bay.”Amnesty cited “forgotten” conflicts that had taken a heavy toll on human rights and lives in places as diverse as Ivory Coast, Colombia, Burundi, Chechnya and Nepal. “Iraq and Israel and the occupied territories are in the news, Ituri in the Democratic Republic of Congo is not, despite the imminent threat of genocide.” The situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo remained “bleak, with continuing fighting and attacks on civilians”, it said. “In Burundi, government forces carried out extrajudicial killings, ‘disappearances’, torture and other serious violations.”The Colombian government had “exacerbated the spiralling cycle of political violence”, it said. The report accused Israel of committing war crimes in the occupied territories and the Palestinians of committing crimes against humanity by targeting civilians in suicide bombings.

“At least 1,000 Palestinians were killed by the Israeli army [in 2002], most of them unlawfully,” it said. “Palestinian armed groups killed more than 420 Israelis, at least 265 of them civilians.”Ms Khan said it was vital for the world to “resist the manipulation of fear and challenge the narrow focus of the security agenda”. Watchdog names the offendersUnited StatesAmnesty said the detention of more than 600 foreign nationals, including Britons, at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba was a “human rights scandal” and the prisoners should either be released or charged. Two prisoners were killed at Bagram air base, north-east of Kabul, under American interrogation. Amnesty had not been allowed access to Bagram or Guantanamo Bay. The US, the only country to officially sanction the execution of juveniles, executed 71 people last year, 33 of them in Texas.UKThe UK was accused of “serious human rights violations”.

Thirteen foreign nationals were interned in jail without charge in “inhuman and degrading conditions” under the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act. Lotfi Raissi, an Algerian, was held for five months for extradition to the US in a case thrown out by the judge.Israel/PalestineAmnesty International accused the Israeli army of war crimes and Palestinian militants of crimes against humanity. At least 1,000 Palestinians were killed by Israeli soldiers in 2002; most of the killings had been unlawful. In the same period, Amnesty said, Palestinian militant groups killed more than 420 Israelis, at least 265 of them civilians. IndonesiaThe human rights situation in Aceh and Papua is grave. Scores of unlawful detentions by both the police and military were reported. At least nine prisoners of conscience were given jail terms and three others were charged with “insulting the President”.ColombiaNew security measures in Colombia worsened political violence.