KABUL, Afghanistan, Dec. 1 — A leading human rights group criticized the United States military on Monday for not disclosing the status of an investigation into the deaths of two prisoners at an American base in Afghanistan last year. Initial inquiries by military investigators deemed the deaths homicides that involved "blunt force injuries," according to the group.

American military officials did not respond to a request for comment on Monday night. In the past, they have said all prisoners held at the base in Bagram were treated humanely.

Dr. William F. Schulz, executive director of Amnesty International USA, criticized the military for failing to disclose the status or conclusions of the investigation. The group identified the two Afghan detainees as Mullah Habibullah, who was about 30 when he died Dec. 3, and Dilawar, 22, a taxi driver who died Dec. 10.

"When apparent homicides occur in secret prisons, and promised investigations saw no results," Dr. Schulz said, "the country's cherished values of humane treatment and respect for the law are dishonored." He accused the military of showing "a chilling disregard for the value of human life."

The homicide investigation into Mr. Dilawar's death was first disclosed by The New York Times in March 2003. Details of his death were not made public by the Army.

At the time of his death, military officials said he had coronary artery disease and had died of a heart attack. He was found collapsed in a cell shortly after being arrested near the perimeter of an American base in southeast Afghanistan.

In interviews last winter, two former prisoners, Abdul Jabar and Hakkim Shah, recalled seeing Mr. Dilawar in the Bagram detention center. They said conditions they were subjected to at the time included standing naked, hooded and shackled, being deprived of sleep for days at a time and being kept immobile for long periods.

Mr. Dilawar's relatives said they had received a death certificate from an American military officer in Kabul with the young man's body on Jan. 17, 2003. Mr. Dilawar's brother said he did not fully understand what the paper said.

The certificate, filled by an United States Army pathologist, said, "Decedent was found unresponsive in his cell while in custody." Under "mode of death," there were four squares listing "natural, accident, suicide, homicide." The square for homicide was marked with an X.

Copyright 2003 The New York Times Company

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