LONDON, June 2.— Although Washington denies it, a British non-governmental organization accused the US on Monday of having at least 17 boats operating as "floating prisons" for supposed Islamic militants, as part of its "war on terrorism," reported AFP.

The Reprieve organization stated that the boats are used to interrogate suspects "under torturous conditions before being rendered to other, often undisclosed, locations."Col. Gary Keck, a Pentagon spokesperson, said "There are no detention facilities on any ships. Sometimes there have been transports on ships, but not as a detention facility."When asked what he understood as "a detention facility," Keck said "detention is a long-term place to be."
Clive Stafford Smith, director of the NGO, said "The US administration chooses ships to try to keep their misconduct as far as possible from the prying eyes of the media and lawyers.

"Manfred Nowak, a UN specialist on torture said in June 2005 that there were "very, very serious accusations" about US prison ships acting outside international legal norms, mainly in the Indian Ocean.