BEIJING, Feb. 14(Xinhuanet) -- A UN investigation into the prison at Guantanamo Bay accused the U.S. use of some interrogation techniques amounted to acts of torture and called on Washington to close the detension center.

    The findings emerged from an 18-month investigation that included interviews with former U.S. prisoners in France, Spain and Britain and lawyers and relatives of detainees. The report concluded that some practices -- including the force-feeding of hunger strikers -- "must be assessed as amounting to torture."

    The five human rights experts from the UN concluded that ¡°the US Government should close Guantanamo Bay detention facilities without further delay¡±, and either bring all Guantanamo Bay detainees to trial or release them.

    The draft report was delivered to the US on 16 January. It was first disclosed late on Sunday by the Los Angeles Times, and a copy was obtained by journalists.

    The U.N. investigators had sought invitations from the United States to visit Guantanamo Bay since 2002. They declined in November last year to accept an offer from the United States to make a one-day visit to the facility on the grounds that they could not speak privately with the prisoners.

    On Monday, US officials faulted the experts for rejecting the invitation, saying it undermined the accuracy of their findings.

    (Agencies)