Afghanistan orders release of 72 prisoners

The Afghan government has ordered the release of 72 prisoners from Bagram jail, despite Washington’s insistence that the men were involved in killing dozens of US and Afghan troops and pose a serious threat to the country’s security.

The decision further strains Kabul’s difficult relationship with Washington. The two countries are already at odds over a draft deal to keep US forces in the country for counter-terrorism operations and train Afghan troops after their combat mission ends this year.

The US expressed its concern to Afghanistan over the planned release of the detainees who Washington consider dangerous. State department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said: “These 72 detainees are dangerous criminals against whom there is strong evidence linking them to terror-related crimes, including the use of improvised explosive devices, the largest killer of Afghan civilians.”

The prisoner release was agreed at a meeting of top judicial officials, chaired by President Hamid Karzai, and included the attorney general and the justice minister.

Mr Karzai had asked the Afghan spy chief to draw up dossiers on the prisoners, but investigations in Kabul and the provinces only turned up solid evidence against 16 of them, the president’s spokesman, Aimal Faizi, said. Their cases have been sent to the attorney general’s office and will be handled through the legal system.

Of the others, 45 were deemed completely innocent with no evidence emerging against them, Mr Faizi said. The names of the remaining 27 had appeared in files but there was “nothing direct and concrete” connecting them with attacks.

"We know there will be disagreements and the Americans will not be happy with this decision, but this is our duty," he said. "We cannot allow innocent Afghan citizens to be kept in detention for months and years without a trial, for no reason at all. We know that unfortunately this has been happening at Bagram, but it is illegal and a violation of Afghan sovereignty."– (Guardian service/ Reuters)