Afghans agree air base jail handover 10/01/2010 - 12:10:39
The Afghan government has agreed on a transition plan to take over responsibility for the US-run prison at Bagram air base, where there have been allegations of human rights abuses.
US and Afghan officials said the handover could occur by the end of the year.
Treatment of inmates at the jail has been under scrutiny since the 2002 deaths at Bagram of two Afghan detainees, which led to prisoner abuse charges against several American troops.
Concerns about lengthy detentions have also drawn comparisons with US detention centres in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and in Iraq.
President Hamid Karzai has said he wants operations at Bagram to be re-evaluated and has called for the release of inmates being held without evidence.
He said arrests were turning ordinary Afghans against US and Nato forces.
The US military welcomed the memorandum of understanding signed by senior Afghan officials yesterday, saying the prison could be handed over to Afghan control by the end of the year. Defence minister General Abdul Rahim Wardak and other senior Afghan officials signed the agreement.
The top US military commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal attended the ceremony, but did not sign the deal.
The Afghans decided that the Ministry of Defence will initially assume responsibility for the transition, but will eventually transfer its role as custodian and manager of the facility to the Ministry of Justice, according to a US statement.
The Ministry of Defence said the Afghans would take over operation of the prison and responsibility for investigating, detaining and trying inmates.
General Mohammad Zahir Azimi, a spokesman for the ministry, said training of two army battalions of about 800 soldiers each to take over responsibility for Bagram would begin within days, but admitted the process would take time.
"We are very hopeful that this handover will take place in the first six months of the current year," he said.
"This is a very good and important step for the Afghan government so it will have responsibility for the Afghan prisoners."
Second vice president Karim Khalili said the move would boost public trust and confidence in the Afghan judicial system.
The US military opened a new prison named after the surrounding Parwan province in November to replace the original facility in an effort to improve living conditions and reintegration programs.
US military spokesman Air Force Colonel Stephen Clutter said the 750 prisoners - most accused of being Taliban supporters who pose a threat - had been moved to the new prison by the end of December.
He said Afghan staff could be stationed at the prison by March and would be working alongside the Americans for training and mentoring.
"But there will come a time when the facility will be transferred to Afghan control and it's possible by the end of the year," he added.
