US releases long-secret list of 645 detainees held in Afghanistan

US releases names of 645 detainees in Afghanistan

WASHINGTON — The U.S. has released a long-secret list of some 645 detainees held at a military base in Afghanistan.

The identities and descriptions of the detainees at Bagram air base had been sought by the American Civil Liberties Union.

In response to the lawsuit, the government released roughly 2,000 pages of documents Friday evening.

The list could help the non-Afghan detainees at the base challenge their detention in U.S. courts, though it only contains their names, not their nationalities or the circumstances of their capture.

The Afghan government has agreed on a plan to take over responsibility for the prison at Bagram, where there have been allegations of human rights abuses. U.S. and Afghan officials said the hand-over could occur by the end of the year.