Innocent truck driver tells of ordeal at Afghanistan's Bagram jail

Pakistani truck driver Umran Khan spent nine years in Afghanistan's Bagram prison, where he says he suffered beatings, sleep deprivation and a sustained campaign of mental disintegration despite committing no crime.

Accused with a friend of transporting bombs in 2005, he has maintained his innocence - and an official record shows his captors suspected the same.

Now the 32-year-old, one of six Pakistanis released last November, has spoken out against his treatment at Bagram in a case that rights groups say underlines the need for more scrutiny of the prison.

Opened in 2002, it has often been compared to Guantanamo Bay. The Afghan authorities took over the jail, renamed Parwan, last year. But the US remains in charge of foreigners, including about 34 Pakistanis.

Mustafa Qadri, Pakistan researcher for Amnesty International, said the case "demonstrates the persisting secrecy surrounding US detention policies".

He added: "It is a significant problem, given cases like this where individuals with no apparent involvement in hostilities happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time."