Kabul frees 65 prisoners despite US warnings

AFP/Kabul

Scores of alleged Taliban fighters walked free from jail in Afghanistan yesterday, triggering condemnation from the United States which said they were responsible for killing Nato and Afghan soldiers as well as civilians.

The release of the prisoners further worsened the bitter relationship between Kabul and Washington as US-led foreign troops prepare to withdraw after 13 years fighting the Islamist militants.

“The 65 prisoners were freed and walked out of the Bagram prison compound this morning,” Abdul Shukor Dadras, a member of the Afghan government’s review body, said.

“Their cases were reviewed and we had no reason to keep them in jail.”

The US embassy criticised the releases as “a deeply regrettable” move that could lead to further violence in Afghanistan, which has suffered a bloody Taliban insurgency since 2001.

“The Afghan government bears responsibility for the results of its decision,” the embassy said in a statement.

“We urge it to make every effort to ensure that those released do not commit new acts of violence and terror.”

But President Hamid Karzai has called Bagram prison a “Taliban-producing factory” and alleged that some detainees were tortured into hating their country.

The US military described the men as “dangerous individuals” directly linked to attacks which killed or wounded 32 Nato personnel and 23 Afghans.

It gave names and details of three men to be freed, including Mohamed Wali, whom it described as a suspected Taliban explosives expert “biometrically linked” to two bombings against troops in Helmand province.

“Violent criminals who harm Afghans and threaten the peace and security of Afghanistan should face justice in the Afghan courts,” the US force said in a statement.

Plans to free the men have enraged US officials and become a focus point of strained relations as the two countries wrangle over a security deal which would allow some American soldiers to stay in the country after 2014.

Most US and other foreign troops are scheduled to pull out this year, but a small force may stay to conduct training and counter-terrorism missions.

Yesterday’s prison releases could threaten essential funding for Afghanistan as US lawmakers become increasingly frustrated at Kabul’s antagonistic approach to its biggest aid donor.

Afghan officials say the Bagram detainees have been held, often for years, without being charged or brought to trial, and that there is insufficient evidence to prosecute them.

The prison was the main detention centre housing Taliban and other insurgents.

Karzai tells US to ‘stop harassing’

Afghan President Hamid Karzai yesterday said Washington should respect his country’s judicial authority after the release of 65 alleged Taliban fighters triggered US condemnation.  

“Afghanistan is a sovereign country. If the Afghan judicial authorities decide to release the prisoners, it is of no concern to the US and should be of no concern to the US,” Karzai told a news conference in the Turkish capital.

“I hope that the United States will stop harassing Afghanistan’s procedures and judicial authority.”

The release of 65 alleged Taliban fighters in Afghanistan poses serious security concerns and sets back the rule of law, Nato head Anders Fogh Rasmussen said yesterday.

“I am gravely concerned by the decision,” he said in a statement, noting that the released prisoners were alleged to have killed and wounded Afghan civilians, Afghan security forces and US-led Nato forces.

Rasmussen said the decision appeared to have been “based on political calculations and... is a major step backwards for the rule of law in Afghanistan and poses serious security concerns.”

The Afghan government has “to uphold the rule of law and to ensure the security of the country,” he said., calling on Kabul to make sure those released do not pose a further threat.