Kabul, December 5 (RHC)-- The International Criminal Court is undertaking a three-day hearing about torture in Afghanistan -- including by U.S. forces.  The hearing will probe allegations that members of the U.S. military and intelligence agencies tortured, raped and sexually abused Afghan prisoners between 2003 and 2004. 

Prosecutors and torture survivors are hoping to overturn a previous ruling that blocked an investigation into alleged U.S. war crimes in Afghanistan.  This ruling, issued in April, came only a month after U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo banned visas for International Criminal Court staff seeking to investigate the allegations of U.S. war crimes in Afghanistan and beyond.