LONDON, May 26: Europe found itself in the uncomfortable position of being taken to task over human rights abuses on Tuesday as the Amnesty International castigated several nations - most notably Russia - for misdeeds.

While countries including Britain, France, Germany and Italy were rapped in the London-based organization's report, Moscow was singled out as a nation where torture was endemic and maltreatment virtually never brought to book.

"The use of torture and ill-treatment by police to extract confessions from detainees was virtually routine," Amnesty said of Russia. Matters were especially bad in Chechnya, with the report noting that Russia's forces "continue to enjoy almost total impunity for serious violations of human rights and international law" there.

London was also targeted for its policy of indefinitely detaining foreign nationals without charge for alleged involvement in terrorism. "Serious human rights violations continued to take place in the context of the United Kingdom authorities' response to the Sept 11, 2001, attacks in the USA," the group said.

Last year, 14 foreign nationals - two of whom have been freed this year - were held under "severely restrictive regimes", Amnesty noted. Britain additionally received criticism, along with the United States, after Amnesty said their troops in Iraq "failed to live up fully to their responsibilities as occupying powers" by not maintaining order and safety.

Other nations brought to book included France, where Amnesty expressed concern about the mistreatment of foreign nationals being deported and racist behaviour by police.

Germany also saw allegations of police brutality, while the chapter on Italy noted that the functioning of its justice system "fell short of international standards".

Belgium saw reports of "ill-treatment, excessive force and racist abuse by police officers", the report said, while in Spain, misdeeds included killings by Basque separatist group ETA as well as alleged torture by the police.

Some of the 10 mainly ex-Soviet Bloc nations which joined the European Unions on May 1 this year were also criticised, with Amnesty noting persistent discrimination against Roma minorities in the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia, among others. -AFP