Allegations that US guards mistreated the Koran, including flushing it down a lavatory, were lent extra weight on Wednesday by the publication by a US human rights group of government documents detailing allegations by prisoners at Guantánamo Bay.

The release of the documents, obtained under the Freedom of information Act by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), coincided with a call by Amnesty International for the US to regain its moral authority by showing greater respect for human rights.