Afghanistan Frees 37 Bagram Prisoners


Afghanistan Frees 37 Bagram Prisoners

TEHRAN (Tasnim) - The US military said Afghanistan's government has released a group of 37 prisoners in a former US detention facility.

The releases came after more than a month-long row between Kabul and Washington, which had categorised the detainees as "dangerous".

In a statement on Monday, the US Forces-Afghanistan (USFOR-A), condemned what they called an "extra-judicial release" of detainees, linking them to roadside bombings and attacks on foreign and government troops.

According to the statement, "40 percent have participated in direct attacks wounding or killing 57 Afghan citizens and security force members and 30 percent participated in direct attacks wounding or killing 60 US or coalition force members".

Though Washington maintains it has provided sufficient evidence of the dangers posed by the 88 total disputed detainees, the Afghan Review Board, led by Abdul Shakoor Dadras, has maintained that there is insufficient evidence to support any claims that these inmates would return to the armed opposition.

The government has released no statements about Sunday's releases, Al Jazeera reported.

Speaking at a press conference on Saturday, however, Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president called the Bagram prison a "Taliban-making factory".

"Bagram is a place where innocent people are tortured and insulted and made dangerous criminals," he said.

The United States handed over control of the US detention facility in the northern province of Parwan last March.

Most Visited in Other Media
Top Other Media stories
Top Stories