OTTAWA, April 23 (Reuters) - Afghan prisoners detained by Canadian soldiers and then handed over to local authorities say they were beaten, starved, frozen, choked and subjected to electric shocks, the Globe and Mail newspaper said on Monday.

The report is another headache for Ottawa, which is investigating earlier allegations that Canadian troops handed over Taliban suspects despite knowing they could be abused.

The paper said 30 interviews with men captured in the southern province of Kandahar "uncovered a litany of gruesome stories and a clear pattern of abuse by the Afghan authorities who work closely with Canadian troops, despite Canada's assurances that the rights of detainees are protected."

Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor last month admitted he had misled Parliament by falsely telling legislators that the International Committee of the Red Cross would inform Canada if any detainees were being mistreated.

One Afghan police official told the paper that some suspects "need some torture, because without torture they will never say anything".

The Globe report raises questions about the effectiveness of Afghanistan's independent human rights commission, which has promised to report any abuses of prisoners handed over by Canadian troops.

Canada's military police complaints commission is probing allegations that on at least 18 occasions, Canadian officials handed over prisoners, knowing they might be tortured.

"Over and over, detainees described how Canadians tied their hands with plastic straps, marking the start of nightmarish journeys through shadowy jails and blood-spattered interrogation rooms," the paper said.

Mahmad Gul, a farmer, said he was interrogated by Afghan police for three days in May 2006. Canadian soldiers visited him between beatings.

"The Canadians told me 'Give them real information, or they will do more bad things to you,'" Gul said.

O'Connor's chief spokeswoman didn't respond to a request for comment.

Separately, four investigations are under way into whether Canadian troops mistreated three Afghan men captured in April 2006. Canada has 2,500 soldiers based in the southern city of Kandahar.

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