U.S. Condemns Release of 65 Bagram Prisoners

KABUL: (MEP) -The United States Forces-Afghanistan (USFOR-A) issued a statement Monday condemning the Afghan Attorney General’s order to release 65 prisoners from Bagram prison.

In the statement, USFOR-A claims the releases violates agreements made between the U.S. and Afghanistan. The move is backdropped by worsening relations between Kabul and Washington over the past few months as President Hamid Karzai enters his last few weeks in office and the NATO coalition continues to drawdown.

U.S. officials objected to the announcement that 88 prisoners from Bagram prison would be released by the Afghan government in January. The 65 detainees ordered released this week by the Attorney General’s office are from that group.

Officials on the Review Board charged with overseeing releases said there was no evidence against the candidates and so they needed to be released in accordance with Afghan law. The Afghan National Directorate of Security and the Attorney General’s office were also weighed in and have not stopped the releases from moving forward.

However, USFOR-A in its statement on Monday maintained that materials were submitted by the U.S. proving that these prisoners were engaged in militant activities, and even directly responsible for coalition and Afghan casualties.

“The U.S. has, on several occasions, provided extensive information and evidence on each of the 88 detainees to the Afghan Review Board, the Afghan National Directorate of Security and the Attorney General’s office,” the statement read.

U.S. officials have warned that the released prisoners would likely return to the battlefield and continue to pose a threat to Afghan and foreign lives. The USFOR-A statement said the prisoners should be prosecuted in Afghan courts.

But U.S. and Afghan officials seem a world apart on the issue. Attorney General Spokesman Basir Azizi has called the 65 detainees expected to be released “innocent”, despite their having never sat in front of a judge or jury.

Azizi said 23 more detainees are currently under review for potential release.